Katie Hopkins is one of those people almost everybody’s heard
of. Which is a pretty huge achievement for someone who’s only real claims to
fame are two reality show appearances (The Apprentice and I’m A Celebrity). I
mean, can you name any other contestants from The Apprentice?
Even people who
actually watch The Apprentice would struggle to name contestants from past
seasons. Yet everybody knows her name. And not just as “that mouthy blond girl
off The Apprentice”. But as Katie Hopkins.
From her performance on The Apprentice she became a hate
figure in the media, as she was renowned for her controversial comments whilst
on the show. But still, only really Apprentice fans would have paid this any
mind at this time.
Over the next few years she appeared in guest roles on various
shows, leading up to 2013; the year everyone learnt her name. In an appearance
on ITV’s This Morning, intending to publicise a book she’d written on children’s
names. Instead, her performance resulted in many video clips of the interview
being linked through social media, most entitled something to the effect of “Katie
Hopkins is a dumb bitch”. In her interview she explained that she judges
children in her kids classes based on their names. This resulted in her being
dubbed both classist and a hypocrite, as she expressed distaste for ‘geographical
location names’, despite having named HER OWN DAUGHTER India. She became pretty
unpopular.
A recent tweet from Katie took the form of a slightly racist
tweet about the Scottish life expectancy. This tweet came fantastically timed within
24 hours of the tragic helicopter crash in Glasgow, where a police helicopter
dropped out of the air landing on a packed pub, killing nine people and
injuring many more. This sparked outrage. Katie has responded stating that her
joke was based on a recent NHS report, and nothing to do with the crash, but
one has to wonder if that’s just an excuse.It’s been a while since my Facebook
feed has had Katie’s face appear on it. One could suggest that Katie knew
exactly what she was doing when she tweeted so soon after the tragedy.
Maybe I’m cynical, but when someone famous, solely for controversial remarks, does something that’s arguably a step further, it seems an awful lot like a move to grab focus rather than an accident.
Maybe I’m cynical, but when someone famous, solely for controversial remarks, does something that’s arguably a step further, it seems an awful lot like a move to grab focus rather than an accident.
You know what the best way to stop someone being a celebrity is?
Start ignoring them. Ignore the things they do. If you want them to STAY being
a celebrity, by all means get upset, make a fuss, get their picture in the news
again. The more you talk about them, the more they’re going to be around.
Personally though, I’d like to see more of Katie Hopkins.
The news is no fun without a bit on controversy. Nothing gets people talking
about issues like it; and if we’re ever going to tackle those issues, we need
to be talking about them. That said, this last move wasn’t cool Katie. It’s
fine to be an attention-grabbing (ed, the next word has been replaced with .... Zebra), but don’t try and steal the limelight
from the dead. That’s the real problem here; people will talk about the crash
in Glasgow, and they might be able to name the pub, they’ll be able to name the
woman who made an ill-timed joke, but how many of you can name those who lost
their lives in the crash?
Words by Ari Carrington
Words by Ari Carrington