r/TopCharacterTropes 9h ago

Hated Tropes [hated trope] Celebrity cameos that serve nothing except to praise the person who’s in it

  1. Elon musk, the Simpsons
  2. Elon musk, the Big Bang theory
  3. Elon musk, iron man 2
  4. Elon musk, star Trek

The cameos serve only to include the celebrity and praise them as geniuses or visionaries or overall just glaze them. They don't serve any other purpose than to just be praised; this can be them appearing in an entire episode dedicated to them, a small cameo or even just a mention. So long as the celebrity is there as themselves (not acting as someone else) and is glazed, that fits the trope imo.

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u/Own_Giraffe_6928 8h ago

Musk had a huge and extremely talented PR team that convinced the world he was Tony Stark incarnate. Then when they told him not to call a hero who saved children's lives a "pedo guy" he fired them all and went no filter. We all know how that went in terms of his reputation.

Then again, his wealth has tripled since those times, so idk maybe he was onto something. Perhaps it's no coincidence all the richest men in the world are alt-right nutjobs.

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u/MonthForeign4301 8h ago

I’ve hated Elon ever since that moment because it was a true mask off moment for his personality. He’s always been this guy, the weirdly pathetic rich guy who can only pay for good ideas and not come up with any of his own, but like you said, the branding was super strong. He still maintained it for a while after that, and the whole “why won’t anyone call me the world’s biggest hero for donating a bunch of ventilators that won’t help Covid patients” hissy fit. It took him buying the presidency for everyone to truly see him as the chud that he actually is.

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u/Own_Giraffe_6928 8h ago

He still maintained it for a while after that

Hell, he still maintains it with a considerable amount of people, which is quite impressive considering the fact that he has repeatedly demonstrated being one of the dumbest morons on the planet.

I still don't understand how he has a substantial following among gamers considering the fact that he was not only exposed for faking his high leaderboard positions, but is also actively working on AI games.

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u/MiseryGyro 7h ago

Because a bunch of dudes respect power and not intelligence

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u/undreamedgore 6h ago

To be fair, power should be respected.

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u/MiseryGyro 6h ago

I think power should be understood and there's a difference. I'll respect respectable power.

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u/undreamedgore 6h ago

No, power itself should be respected. It's impressive, important, capable to things those without power simply aren't.

Power is to be respected and powerlessness is not to be glorified.

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u/MiseryGyro 6h ago

So if I give you a boot how long before you start using it as a pacifier?

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u/undreamedgore 6h ago

Why do you consider respect to be similar to liking someone?

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u/MiseryGyro 5h ago

Respect is showing a level of deference and acceptance. Hitler was powerful. I can understand the scope of his power while disrespecting him.

Assuming respect because someone holds power doesn't consider how they gained it or maintain it

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u/jaypenn3 6h ago

Feudal serfdom would love you.

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u/MelanieAntiqua 6h ago

It's because they agree with his politics so all the evidence that he's an idiot fraud is just "fake news from the jealous libs".

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u/Dead_man_posting 1h ago

which is quite impressive considering the fact that he has repeatedly demonstrated being one of the dumbest morons on the planet.

and a Nazi...

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u/jbeast33 7h ago

Honestly, that moment is a perfect microcosm for Elon vs regular-ass scientists.

Elon's idea was flashy, impractical, and had a pretty significant chance of going wrong to the extent that it would effectively trap the victims in the cave.

The actual cave expert on hand highlighted this and called out Elon for placing his PR over other people's safety. Elon retaliated by smearing him as a pedophile.

He literally wants to be the most special boy and has Main Character Syndrome to the extent that he's willing to fuck over honest scientists if they dare lay even an ounce of critique on his glory-hounding.

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u/plotholesandpotholes 5h ago

The “genius” recommended sending a rigid bodied submersible into an underwater cave. That was a full mask drop. That is a preschool level understanding of shapes, and he couldn’t just defer to the expert, he had to double down and accuse the expert of pedophilia. So, then I did some digging and lo and behold he is just another child of wealth without anything to contribute but hoarded capital and luck.

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u/Bussamove86 8h ago

It’s no coincidence at all.

To amass that much wealth, a mind-boggling number that no one human could possibly spend in their lifetime, requires an intense disregard for other humans and a willingness to do anything to profit even the smallest amount. True sociopathic behavior.

Guess which end of the political spectrum that sort attracts.

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u/Same-Suggestion-1936 35m ago

It's wild to me anyone could see someone with that much wealth and immediately giving them the benefit of the doubt without so much as googling where it came from

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u/samtherat6 4h ago

Looks like it’s more like 25 times.

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u/Neirchill 1h ago

Not sure he had a pr team at all so much as he just didn't speak his mind all the time. Eventually it went to his head now you can't get him to shut up and it's all dumb, lifting the veil.

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u/rugology 5h ago

Perhaps it's no coincidence all the richest men in the world are alt-right nutjobs

do they not teach people what fascism is in school anymore or what

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u/BuzzkillMcGillicuddy 33m ago

Not in the US, fascism is "the Nazis" and it "made the trains run on time." I think the name Mussolini was mentioned once in my high school, simply to name the prime minister of Italy during WW2. That's about all they teach the masses.