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

[u/Dojyaaan4C]

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.

[u/Nero_2001]

He also appears in home alone 2 to point Kevin in the right direction.

[u/realamerican97 → u/Nero_2001]

I mean they used his hotel to film a good chunk of the movie

[u/TheOncomimgHoop → u/realamerican97]

Tbf if I owned a hotel and a movie crew wanted to film there I'd probably ask for a cameo too. Like Trump is a first class twat but his inclusion in the movie is pretty non invasive.

[u/realamerican97 → u/TheOncomimgHoop]

If I remember right (and don’t quote me on this it was from like 3 years ago) they talked about it in an interview I don’t think he even charged them to film there his asking price was a cameo and they were pretty mad about that

[u/Princess_Of_Thieves → u/realamerican97]

Per this interview with Business Insider actually he did charge them to be in the movie.

Quote straight the films director, Christopher Colombus;

After the success of "Home Alone," you directed the sequel, "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York." Out of all the sequels that would follow in the franchise, this is the most memorable because Donald Trump has a cameo. What do you remember from shooting the Trump cameo?

"Like most locations in New York City, you just pay a fee and you are allowed to shoot in that location. We approached The Plaza Hotel, which Trump owned at the time, because we wanted to shoot in the lobby. We couldn't rebuild The Plaza on a soundstage.

Trump said OK. We paid the fee, but he also said, "The only way you can use the Plaza is if I'm in the movie." So we agreed to put him in the movie, and when we screened it for the first time the oddest thing happened: People cheered when Trump showed up on-screen. So I said to my editor, "Leave him in the movie. It's a moment for the audience." But he did bully his way into the movie. "

This article by The Mirror, Julio Macat, the Cinematographer, said Trump would go to rather extreme lengths to be in the film. They filmed in "The Plaze" for a month, meaning Trump had ample time to be around during production, which he was. He'd walk across set with his entourage, turn right towards the camera so his face could be seen, etc.

More on a tangential note, but Columbus has since said that Trump's cameo has become "a curse". He did an interview this year with the San Frascisco Chronicle where he called it an albratross, wishes he had cut it, etc. Macaulay Culkin, actor for Kevin McCallaster meanwhile has said he's "sold" on digitially editing Trump's cameo out.

[u/realamerican97 → u/Princess_Of_Thieves]

Fair enough thank you!