What cost celebrity?

Celebrity, to me, is not a thing to seek.

Aidan Quinn

One of the most interesting wrinkles in today’s society is the emergence of celebrity of popularity. Whether on screen or getting paid to associate your name with something, the number of followers you have is often far more important than the number of accomplishments you bring to the table. So, if you want to be a part of making your name, or getting a crowd, you are forced to put yourself out there as much as possible for name recognition, and oftentimes public inspection.

I have a group of friends who run a regional theatre company that had added a work to their season that they found to be a little culturally insensitive. As the company tried to decide what to do, a group of people who was sensitive to the cause threw their voices heavily behind making the change to the season. As they stirred their own passions, there were even a few outliers who threatened the lives of some of the actors, should they decide to be a part of the show. The company made their decision to shift gears simply out of a sense of protecting their people.

With the change, another group on the other apogee of the argument screamed bloody murder about having their show taken off the table, and started hurling threats of their own. This tiny business, who makes their money off of popularity and word of mouth, found themselves limping away from a double headed firestorm. Their desire to stay afloat fueled their desire to promote themselves… And blew back up in their face.

Even a minor celebrity faces rough waters these days in a polarized and opinionated world.

So when self-admitted introvert and oh-by-the-way reigning NBA MVP Nikola Jokic took a moment to speak about the celebrity that has come with his awe-inspiring skills, he was a little less than enthusiastic about how it impacts him.

Nikola Jokic: “It’s not really fun being a celebrity, I think.”

— Harrison Wind (@HarrisonWind) September 22, 2021

Jokic had a hell of a summer this year, his first chance to give his body a breather after nearly two seasons of basketball with the bubble bridging the gap. Unfortunately for Serbia’s favorite basketball son, there were also qualifying games for the Olympics. Jokic decided to sit the whole thing out and take a badly-needed rest.

There is no celebrity quite as powerful as the local, homegrown celebrity.

Tony Wilson

But with our relatively newfound ability to communicate and congregate online has proliferated, so did Serbia’s conversation about whether or not Jokic was doing the right thing. As they are wont to do, a few voices got heated, some questioning the heart and patriotism of the guy who brought home a silver medal four years ago to a moment like this:

Tell me about 45 seconds in that that isn’t a man who loves his country with all his heart. That same year, he had this to say about his hometown and country when asked about his “fans”:

“I agree, except for one part. In Sombor, those are not my fans. Those are my people. I was playing basketball with them. I was hanging around with them. I have spent time with them, in good and bad. I cannot say they are my fans. I can say they are my friends.”

With the fame Jokic now enjoys as one of Serbia’s favorite sons, and a recognizable face in every place he now goes all over the world, he added more about how he feels about being well known.

Nikola Jokic was asked if he was hoping winning MVP would up his celebrity status. He said he doesn’t think being a celebrity is very fun.

“I would rather nobody know me than everybody know me.”

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) September 22, 2021

For a shy and sensitive kid who just so happened to be a basketball savant, the rise has been meteoric. Imagine suddenly becoming famous, only to have a part of every telling of your emergence include things like how fat you used to be, or how much your older brothers used to play a little TOO hard with you at times. A young 20-something trying to navigate being the subject of wonder and the butt of the joke. Surprisingly, Jokic has handled much of that ascension with ease. But this new level of fame gives him a lot more to think about. With his MVP award comes even more celebrity, something several celebs have been a little shocked to learn the realities of. When someone suddenly vaults into stardom, some of the jolts are very unexpected. Margot Robbie talked about life, stalkers, and death threats after joining the Hollywood A-list post-Suicide Squad:
“There’s just all this stuff you learn along the way, like, when you get those death threats, it’s smart to have a security team do a background check on whoever sent them to see if there is any past history of violence because you’ll need to know whether you need security to go to certain events. And every time you do a background check, it’s going to cost $2,000.”

To keep up with that cycle, Robbie had to continue to take A-list gigs. “You need to always do a job that can financially support that lifestyle; you can’t just do indie films for the rest of your life because that film back there changed everything, and now you have to be able to afford security.”

Will Jokic feel more secure with a little more security, as another Joker is on the way?

https://t.co/qrOflCDILp pic.twitter.com/mhs9Wz0cKP

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) September 22, 2021

Hard to imagine that this guy could even worry about being unpopular with some.

In case anyone is wondering how Nikola Jokić might be as a dad pic.twitter.com/yjd49yOhZf

— Katy Winge (@katywinge) September 22, 2021

It’s not to say there aren’t perks of being Nikola Jokic these days. His beautiful family is growing. He’s one of basketball’s most unique and special talents. He has the wherewithal to not only take care of his family for the rest of his life, but to share with so many he loves so deeply. But this kid from Sombor, Serbia might be even happier if you had about as much idea who he was as the day the Nuggets drafted him. The fame is as much a price he’s paying as a gift that he’s received. As far as he’s now come, that celebrity will never be fully going away for him. Let’s hope someone with a heart like his ends up seeing far more of the positives than negatives of the glare of that spotlight.

That should be the measure of success for everyone. It’s not money, it’s not fame, it’s not celebrity; my index of success is happiness.

Lupe Fiasco