Save The Children / PAOne of the worlds most famous journalists, Michael Buerk, has criticized numerous ‘infantile’ celebrities for their lectures to the public about third world issues.
Buerk, who became world famous for his cutting edge coverage of the Ethiopian Famine in the mid-80s, specifically called out Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Thompson, who have both recently shared their views on what should be done.
According to The Guardian, it would seem that Buerk’s first hand experience with conflict, famine, and poverty have seen him grow tired of celebrities using major world issues as a way to voice their simplistic views and solutions, and to prosper themselves.
PAMichael Buerk
In an interview with the Radio Times, Buerk wrote:
As a superannuated war reporter myself I’m a little sniffy about celebs pratting around among the world’s victims.
There’s only so much of the Benedict and Emma worldview you can take.
Ex-Harrow pupil Cumberbatch, made headlines last October when he said, ‘Fuck the politicians’, at the end of a performance of Hamlet.
Although not strictly a politician, it is probably worth noting that Cumberbatch’s grandfather, Henry Arnold Cumberbatch, was a diplomat and worked as Queen Victoria’s Consul General in Turkey and Lebanon.
Emma Thompson on the other hand, most famous for her roles in In the Name of the Father, and Nanny McPhee, recently spoke out about sex trafficking and called the UK mad not to stay in the EU.
WikimediaBuerk added:
I hate it when feather-bedded thesps pay flying visits to the desperate to parade their bleeding hearts and trumpet their infantile ideas on what ‘must be done’.
Of course, what Cumberbatch and Thompson are doing raises concern over huge issues in our modern world, however in my opinion they seem to be dumbing down very complex situations and merely leaving it at that.
It seems like these A-list celebrities hop onto their private jets and fly out to some place that’s in the news, snap a few pictures, and come back with a solution.
But what’s shouting ‘Fuck the politicians’ really going to solve?
