The legendary Gisele Bundchen recently found herself in an awkward situation after her comments about Instagram models backfired. The Brazilian model had, in an interview with a popular magazine, expressed disdain at the way new-age models promoted themselves. She had said, “It’s not my generation – I have to be honest about that. I am older, wiser. If I had to promote myself in the way girls modeling now have to do, forget it. I wouldn’t do it.” What was meant to be a dig at models Kendall Jenner and Gigi Hadid ended up portraying Giselle in bad light. The supermodel was called out for being envious of her successors and forced to issue an apology. She said, “My intention was simply to express that I come from an older generation and am not technologically savvy.”
But it’s not just those in the fashion world who are green with envy. Star footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored a stunning hat trick goal in a World Cup match, was in the news also for allegedly snubbing his arch-rival Lionel Messi. Ronaldo stroked his chin after the third goal and the internet perceived this act a mockery of Messi’s recent photo shoot with Adidas. In the said photo shoot, Messi is posing with a goat. The animal is a metaphor of the acronym G.O.A.T – greatest of all time. Ronaldo seems to have stroked his chin to let his fans know that he is in fact the greatest of all time.
So even celebrities don’t seem to be immune to envy. Psychotherapist Srilatha Srikant explains, “People often get confused between jealousy and envy. Jealousy is triggered when an individual fears losing the advantages or credentials that he/she already has. Envy is a reaction to when an individual compares himself/herself to the another individual who has certain advantages over the former. Most of these cases are a result of envy. Take Gisele’s case for example. The sense of envy may have stemmed from the fact that supermodels in today’s world of social media have it lot easier than when she had to make a mark.” In addition to this, Srilatha says, “Insecurities also affect behaviour. In today’s ever-evolving world, celebrities feel the need to be constantly talked about regardless of the negative attention. Relevance trumps positive publicity.”
Another example is filmmaker Karan Johar’s constant jibes against those he doesn’t get along with. You’d wonder why a successful man like him behaves petty at times — the Kangana episode is one such instance.
Harpreet Kaur Kandharia, Energy Analyst, explains, “One of the reasons celebrities indulge in mud-slinging, without understanding the repercussions, could be because of childhood issues — like bullying or abuse they may have faced as children. Once they become celebrities and can influence people, they feel the need to give it back to the world. This is when unresolved childhood resentment seeps out, regardless of their success.”
This may be true in the case of Karan Johar. The director was reportedly overweight in his childhood and has spoken about how he was bullied for being fat. Unpleasant experiences from his younger days may have forced him to develop the sharp tongue as a constant defense mechanism.
