‘The OC’ and ‘Gotham’ Star implore celebrities to stop pushing crypto on their fans
NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 23: Ben McKenzie attends the Tribeca TV Festival preview of Gotham at Cinepolis Chelsea on September 23, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images for the Tribeca TV Festival)
The cryptocurrency has been the source of relentless news over the past year, with more and more versions being released, bringing mainstream media attention to the phenomenon.
This trend has seen celebrities controversially promoting and supporting various online projects, ranging from cryptocurrencies to NFTs. However, a very unexpected name has emerged as a vocal crypto opponent.
Ben McKenzie has had a long acting career, getting his big break in popular drama COwhere he starred as Ryan Atwood, launching him to teen idol status and eventually stardom.
From there, he would go on to star in numerous theater shows, movies, and TV series, including playing a young James Gordon in fan-favorite Batman. prequel Gotham.
The 43-year-old has now waded into the cryptocurrency discussion, co-writing an article for Slate with Jacob Silverman, the journalist best known for his 2015 book Terms of Service: Social Media and Constant Connection Pricing.
In the article, titled “Celebrity Crypto Shilling is a Moral Disaster”, McKenzie criticized Kim Kardashian and celebrities in general for promoting a cryptocurrency to their social media followers.
“To urge its 251 million Instagram followers to get involved in a highly volatile speculative market that is little different from gambling in the world’s most fraudulent casino. The Hollywoodization of crypto is a moral disaster. And for celebrity fans, who probably have a lot less money to spare, it’s also potentially financial.
These rich and famous entertainers might just as easily be applying for payday loans or sitting their audiences at a rigged blackjack table. While the wild swings in crypto can be exciting for some, the rewards for many are illusory, especially once one outgrows the few major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Since then, McKenzie and Silverman have written more crypto articles for the same publication. These include a deep dive into nature and problems with Tether, a so-called “stablecoin” at the center of much of the crypto-economy. They also did a breakdown of some terrible celebrity NFT projectsand another that describes New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ decision to take his salary in Bitcoin as “an embarrassing and stupid gesture.”
However, these articles will not be McKenzie and Silverman’s last words on the matter. The pair are working on a book together that discusses the crypto industry and fraud, but it does not yet have a confirmed release date.