Mirror columnist Polly Hudson says the only way to stop the needless deaths of young celebrities is if we educate kids that fame is far from all it’s cracked up to be
Jamie Clifton messed up his final Harry Potter audition back in 2000, but rather than seething with resentment, he’s grateful.
“The disappointment was fairly crushing as a kid,” he admits now. “But I wouldn’t swap Daniel Radcliffe’s £95million fortune for my happily anonymous teenage years.”
As we reel from the shock of Liam Payne’s death, is it too much to hope that some good can come from it? That this might be the wake-up call that stops kids longing to be celebrities when they grow up – the breakthrough moment they realise fame isn’t a magic cure, it’s often a curse that most would be happier without?
Liam Payne successfully auditioned for X Factor age 16 – take a minute to remember just how emotionally mature a 16-year-old boy is – and basically never came home again.
He got everything he wanted when he was still just a child, really, became a golden goose surrounded by “yes” people. While it’s happening it probably seems like a dream come true, and by the time you realise it was actually a nightmare, it’s far too late.
Kids need boundaries, not to believe they’re in charge. And usually those seeking the validation they assume celebrity provides are bitterly disappointed.
As ancient philosopher Confucius said: “Wherever you go, there you are.” Fame might mean you live in a mansion rather than a council estate, drive a flash motor instead of waiting for the bus, but inside, you still feel exactly the same.
And then what about when it’s over? When the screaming stops, when your record label drops you, when your once-packed diary pages are blank?
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Bob Geldof has spoken about his band, The Boomtown Rats, reaching an abrupt end in 1985. “I thought, ‘That’s it? It’s over?’ Had the best years of my life already passed? I was 30. What a brutal business pop music is.”
Liam Payne is far from the only clearly unwell former pop star who has struggled with addiction as he’s searched for purpose and meaning in his life. Never having to worry about money again when you’re 30 years old is most people’s idea of heaven – and of course it’s a great luxury.
But what reason do you have to get out of bed in the morning? And without the thing that has defined you since you were a teenager, who are you?
When a tragedy like this happens, there are always calls for safeguarding for young entertainers, some kind of duty of care. But while these kids are making money for powerful bigwigs, and there is an endless supply queuing round the block for the opportunity to be used up and spat out by the industry, that will never happen.
The only way there will be change is if we educate young people that fame, like most things that seem too good to be true, is far from all it’s cracked up to be. That it isn’t the answer to any, let alone all of their problems.
That rather than aiming to be Daniel Radcliffe, they’d be far happier as Jamie Clifton.
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