There's no altruism in publicity

Stephen Sutton's story has captivated people from across the world. His bravery is inspirational and a testament to the statement 'the good die young'. I can't stress this enough, what I'm going to say isn't a slur on him in the slightest...

It really gets my goat when celebs pose on Instagram pictures with a piece of paper lending their support to the cause. Stephen's story got a lot of this and Michelle Obama jumped on the bandwagon with the #bringbackourgirls campaign (clearly forgetting that her husband sanctions daily drone attacks on the Middle-East). While both of these are worthy, I can't help but think this is largely for publicity and PR than genuine altruism. If they really cared, they donate part of their massive salary and pay Stephen a visit or fly over to Nigeria to stand side-by-side with the mothers of those missing girls.

Those of you who follow my blog (thanks mum) will know that I have nothing but contempt for celebrities charitable dealings. Whatever they do is under the glare of paparazzi and plastered all over social media. It never feels like enough and if they really cared, they'd donate their £1 million Oscars goody bag to the needy, insist on paying for everything including their taxes and perhaps take the table by the toilet. Not exploit my admiration for an artist by emotionally blackmailing me into donating the tuppence threepenny I earn.

Genuine humanitarians and philanthropists get their hands dirty, they're on the front line fighting for their beliefs like William Wilberforce and donate without the need for public approval or to boost their own profile for personal gain like Beyonce. This isn't what charity is about. This backs up Adam Smith and John Nash's theory that people are inherently selfish.

Published on 16/05/2014