Celebrity status is very expensive to maintain. Before becoming a celebrity, so much energy is expended. They also have limited freedom in so many areas of life to maintain their status. They are careful of their appearances. Fans' taste is very important when dressing.
As a celebrity, your lifestyle becomes not just your business alone but the business of your fans and the general public. Whatever you do is scrutinized and judged by them. This is why many celebrities have to face some scandals at one point or the other.
Just recently, Banky W, a musician from Nigeria was in the eyes of the storm and in the last few days, another artist, Davido, is being accused of extra marital affairs. This is not strange in human relationships but once it involves a celebrity, it gains a special traction. This is to show that they put a lot at stake to maintain the status of celebrity.
Their kind of lifestyles require money to maintain. To a large extent, the high earnings of celebrities are justifiable. From my basic knowledge of economics, when a product is of high demand, the price goes up.
A typical celebrity has many followers looking up to his or latest activity be it music, endorsement and the likes. The more you make yourself sought-after by many, the more you create a rewarding status for yourself. You become a big name and to engage a big name requires a lot of money.
If I juxtapose this with other professionals like teachers and Doctors, I wouldn't want to draw lines of comparison for some reasons.
The reward system for professionals such as Teachers and Doctors is a reflection of the priority of the people. The problem of low earnings for this category is more prevalent in developing countries. They make nonsense of such important professions that are a pillar to nationhood.
A politician can donate millions to celebrities but fail to appreciate academic excellence or medical breakthroughs. I wouldn't blame the celebrity who is the recipient of such largesse but the society without the right priority. What I mean from the foregoing is that celebrities deserve the attention they get but the kind of value held by the people determines their attitude to Teachers and Doctors.
It's good if society gives the professions more respect. Whereas there is no defined standard for someone to become a celebrity, there are some standards that you are expected to attain before becoming a Teacher or Doctor. The learning process is rigorous.
What you do does not matter in becoming a celebrity or not. What matters is the acceptance of what you do. If you are recording the video of you eating perhaps in some weird ways, you can become a celebrity if people develop interest in such. On the other hand, you must be qualified having gone through the training system to be certified a Teacher or a Doctor. That means what you do matters. This is the reason our government must prioritize the welfare of these professionals.
I read an interview recently where a Nigerian teacher in China explained how the teaching profession is better appreciated in China than Nigeria. According to him, a primary school teacher is paid more than a University professor. Don't forget that celebrities are rich in China just like in other countries. That's the kind of system that I considered relatively balanced.
The Governments of other countries, especially Nigeria, should borrow a leaf and make professionals like Teachers and Doctors happy on their job. A society can exist smoothly without celebrities but I vehemently doubt if that can be said of Teachers and Doctors.
I once encountered a meeting between a House of Representatives member and a group of people including Professors. I felt bad when I saw a Professor bowing down to greet a house member. It was supposed to have been the other way. When I checked the profile of the house member, he was a diploma holder who got elected to the House. The Professor had contributed to the body of knowledge for more than 30 years. What transpired was a reflection of the core values of the people like I mentioned earlier.
I don't see any problem with the earnings of celebrities. They need to earn big to live big and impress their fans.
However, I am not pleased with the way professionals are being handled. They deserve better for what they do to society. Government should spearhead this paradigm shift.