Bella Thorne Angers Internet With Careless Mudslide Tweet
It’s enough to make you cringe and possibly even hate-tweet: Former Disney star Bella Thorne is under fire for sending a seemingly heartless tweet during the Southern California mudslides that implied she was annoyed because it was causing her to miss rapper boyfriend Mod Sun’s tour
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/VOGUE Taiwan
It’s enough to make you cringe and possibly even hate-tweet: Former Disney star Bella Thorne is under fire for sending a seemingly heartless tweet during the Southern California mudslides that implied she was annoyed because it was causing her to miss rapper boyfriend Mod Sun’s tour. In the now-deleted tweet, she wrote “Fuck u 101 to santa barbara. I’m missing my boyfriends first date on his tour :(((“.
What she didn’t seem to know at the time of her tweet, however, is that the traffic was caused by the deadly and destructive Montecito mudslides, according to TIME. Although she quickly deleted the tweet and apologized, her nearly 7 million followers on Twitter were very disappointed and outraged by the tone-deaf message. In fact, actor Rob Lowe went on the offensive and posted a screenshot of the original tweet on Instagram with the caption: “This attitude is why people hate celebrities/Hollywood. Bella, I’m sorry you were inconvenienced. We will try to move out our dead quicker.”
After being called out by the internet, she explained to her followers that she “caught up on some news” and learned what was happening on the 101 (the route impacted by the mudslides).
Fuck just caught up on some news had no idea why the 101 was shut down…get home to your family safe ❤️
— BITCHIMBELLATHORNE (@bellathorne) January 11, 2018
I cringe just thinking about this horrendous faux-pax and the damage and hurt it caused people directly impacted by the mudslides. But I also can’t help but think: Isn’t this kind of mistake simply, um, human?
Thorne is certainly not the first or only celebrity to carelessly tweet something without realizing that a bigger conversation is going on. She’s not the first person to send a thought out into the world without first checking whether there is a tragedy happening that should, perhaps, be where our attention lies. Honestly, who hasn’t been stuck in traffic and angry tweeted before? Is it really fair to punish this starlet for her carelessness or should celebrities truly be held to a higher standard than the rest of us?
That being said, I’d like to give her the benefit of the doubt, but the fact is, Thorne, who has been in the spotlight since she was a young age, should do more to stay informed. Her fans have come to love her IDGAF attitude, but there has to be a limit to living on your own terms.
Plus, this isn’t the first time she has come under fire. Recently, she was slammed for posting a nude photo of herself on Instagram with allegedly racist comments, according to Insider. She may apologize all she wants, but it’s clear that some fans will never look at her the same again after this latest Twitter faux pas. We may love her… But she needs to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around her, either. For national tragedies, at least, everyone (celebrities included) should learn to be more careful and caring.
