Robert Downey Jr. recently appeared on the “Conversations for our Daughters” podcast and shaded social media influencers by saying it’s “absolute horseshit” to declare them the “stars of the future.”
The “Iron Man” icon noted that “nowadays people can create celebrity without ever doing much besides rolling a phone on themselves,” adding: “I don’t look at that as a negative thing. I just look at it as more like the challenge for individuation is being upped.”
“Hopefully the [larger] part of the youth of – let’s just call it America for locality’s sake – is gonna say, ‘Yeah, but that’s not my thing. I want to go do something, I’m going to make something, I want to build something, I want to educate myself and I want to have more inputs, so whatever my output is, it isn’t just a self-aggrandizing kind of influencer-type thing,” the Oscar winner continued.
Downey himself has a sizable social media footprint with an Instagram account that has amassed 58.1 million followers, largely due to the legions of Marvel fans from his tenure playing Tony Stark/Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Downey is returning to the franchise later this year as Doctor Doom in “Avengers: Doomsday,” in theaters Dec. 18.
“When I hear people talk about, ‘Oh, the stars of the future are going to be influencers,’ I go, ‘I don’t know what world you’re living in, but I think that that is absolute horseshit,’” Downey said.
“[My 14-year-old son] kinda got caught up in this whole influencer thing, and next thing you know, it’s like, ‘Hey, if you like the way I’m playing this video game, do you wanna send me a donation?’ And really, it becomes a religion,” the actor continued. “So there’s something about the influencers today that are almost like the Evangelical hucksters of the information age. At the same token, it’s different because we’re playing in this new territory and so it’s a little bit of a frontier and I don’t really have a judgment on it. I also know when I am promoting a film now I’ve gotten to know a few of these influencers and I find many of them grounded, accomplished, cool people.”
Despite his own large social media following, Downey said he tries “not to get too deep down the rabbit hole” because “I don’t wish to be consumed.”
“I know like people say, ‘Robert, they just love it when you’re just kind of like seeming off the cuff, and they’re getting a glimpse into your life.’ And I go, ‘But yeah, but I’d be manufacturing that aspect for them, so it’s B.S.,” Downey said. “But I remember Jon Favreau, when we brought the teaser for ‘Iron Man’ to Comic Con, he was tweeting on stage and I saw the audience… This is the new hue where the audience is going to feel like they’re on the steering committee of this thing. Ok, so that’s the new landscape.”
Watch Downey’s full interview on the “Conversations for our Daughters” podcast in the video below.
