The Bad LieuTennant

Why I’m angry at David Tennant

This morning while I was lying in bed not being asleep, I scrolled through the gems my friends posted on Facebook. Fact is, my friends are brilliant, if for no other reason than their decision to befriend me. Anyway, someone (maybe Facebook itself, which would be interesting and troubling) included a “news” story regarding actor David Tennant. Let’s remember, I’m sort of a fan of Mr. Tennant’s. I know very little of his work but I really enjoyed the first season of Jessica Jones and I know that he has taken his turn as Dr. Who (a position required by law of every person in the UK). So here’s what I read.

In the interview, Tennant says (as the headline takes two quotes and inverts their order), “on 'behalf of the Scottish nation': We 'f--king don't' like you.” I will excuse the profanity but not the arrogance. Celebrities have feelings. I assume. They have political tendencies and preferences when it comes to flavors of ice cream. I have even written a piece or two about celebrities so I know they exist. But a couple of reactions:

1. Being a celebrity does not make you an expert – this is the crux of what I wrote in the above linked blog post from 2013. Chomsky’s opinion on the Mideast has no relationship to his brilliant work as a linguist. I wouldn’t ask Mila Kunis whether one should feed a cold or starve it unless she has independently become a certified medical professional.

2. It is easy for a celebrity (especially one who lives outside of America) to hate an American politician. Having an opinion when you have no skin in the game is simple, and when that politician is easily hate-able, jumping onto that bandwagon seems simple. I’m not defending Trump, mind you. I don’t support a lot of what he says or does, or is. But I also do support some of it and because I live here, my opinion matters just a smidge more than Tennant’s. BTW, I often vote third party because our broken and corrupt political system won’t be fixed from within if we continue to feed the two party monopoly. So there.

3. He can’t speak for anyone but himself or a given and limited list of those who have deputized him to speak on their behalf. A representative system requires that people choose their representative. He doesn’t speak on behalf “of the Scottish nation”. Celebrities have access to a larger microphone and can throw press conferences and give interviews to exploit the media and put forward their own view. But that doesn’t make their views the ones that stand in for anyone else’s. Are you telling me, Mr. Tennant, that Scotland, all of it, held a mass referendum and ALL don’t like Donald Trump, and they assigned you the job of publicizing that?

3b. The Scottish nation, like any nation, isn’t a monolithic and united voice. Many Scottish people might surely hate the president. Some might like him. Some might have no opinion. It is arrogant for ANYONE to claim not only to represent the populace but to represent the idea that the “whole” all agree on a particular position and the position is the stated outlook and feeling of an entire nation.

So please, celebrities and Mr. Tennant, stop thinking that you can speak for anyone but yourself and stop leveraging that spotlight in order to advance your personal feelings as if they were something other than just yours.