Robert Downey Jr. isn’t buying the idea that influencers are set to replace traditional stars—and he’s making that clear in blunt terms.
Speaking on Conversations for Our Daughters, the actor dismissed the narrative outright: “When I hear people talk about, ‘Oh, the stars of the future are going to be influencers,’ I go, ‘I don’t know what world you’re living into, but I think that that is absolute horsesh*t.’”
Downey Jr. pointed to how technology has reshaped fame, acknowledging that “nowadays, people can create celebrity without ever doing much besides rolling a phone on themselves.”
Still, he stopped short of calling that inherently negative. Instead, he framed it as a new challenge, saying “the challenge for individuation is being upped,” meaning standing out now requires more than just visibility.
He also expressed concern about how quickly people—especially younger audiences—can get pulled into the attention economy. Recalling his own family, Downey Jr. said his 14-year-old son briefly got caught up in influencer culture: “He kinda got caught up in this whole influencer thing, and next thing you know, it’s like, ‘Hey, if you like the way I’m playing this video game, do you wanna send me a donation?’”
He added, “It becomes a religion,” before comparing parts of the space to “the evangelical hucksters of the information age.”
Despite that critique, Downey Jr. emphasized he’s not against the platform itself, but what it encourages. “Hopefully the grosser part of the youth… is gonna say, ‘Yeah, but that’s not my thing. I want to go do something, I’m going to make something, I want to build something, I want to educate myself.’”
He also addressed his own approach to fame in the social media era, rejecting the idea of curated authenticity. “People say, ‘Robert, they just love it when you’re just kind of like seeming off the cuff,’” he explained. “But yeah, but I’d be manufacturing that aspect for them…so it’s BS.”
Downey Jr.’s comments land as conversations about influence continue across industries. Recently, Jameela Jamil criticized Serena Williams over her promotion of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, warning, “These ‘miracle’ weight loss drugs come at a price,” and urging followers to “make sure you have access to proper healthcare.”
