When you think about the characteristics that define celebrity status, phrases like massive ego, deep insecurities, and lacking self-awareness probably come to mind. The job of a famous person is to promote their brand! The typical celebrate craves attention, wants to be fawned over, and seeks to remain relevant for as long as possible. As a result, they are extremely sensitive to what others say about them. Nonetheless, from time to time you’ll discover that some famous people are willing to set their ego aside and let the world know that they’re not above making fun of themselves. Check out these 7 notable people who understand this!
1. Macaulay Culkin
For a brief period of time in the early 1990s, Macaulay Culkin was the biggest child star on the planet. Home Alone: Kevin Has the Worst Parents in the World was a huge box office success that continues to be an annual holiday tradition, much to my bafflement. Home Alone 2: Kevin’s Parents Still Haven’t Learned a Damn Thing also did well. Again, much to my utter confusion. But as with all things in life, nothing lasts forever. McCauley made the terrible career decision to stop being a kid and start growing up into the far less adorable adult that he’s become. To his credit, he’s taken this all in stride. You’ve probably seen him featured in a 2018 Google Assistant commercial where he reprises his role as Kevin. More recently, he tweeted out a picture of himself with the caption “This is what an updated Home Alone would actually look like…”: featuring a little bit of a gut and a generally sloppy appearance. Good enough to gain nearly 920,000 likes, it goes to show that Culkin takes his voyage into middle age life in stride.
2. Kylie Jenner
Kylie Jenner has 150 million followers on Instagram, so she’s obviously doing something right? In October 2019 she posted a photo of herself on Instagram that would seem to indicate that she is the new Teletubby sun. It’s sort of cute, but she’s hardly making fun of herself. So I added a unibrow for good measure.
3. Taylor Swift
Although I don’t fancy myself an expert on fashion, when Taylor Swift steps out into the public wearing something that resembles a Paddington Bear coat, my first thought is immediately going to be, “Hey, Taylor Swift stepped out into the public wearing something that resembles a Paddington Bear coat!” Who knows if that was her actual intention, but once fans begin stating the obvious, Swift decided to play along by posting a side-by-side comparison on Instagram and asking her fans who wore it better. Paddington, duh!
4. 50 Cent
On July 13th, 2015, 50 Cent declared bankruptcy, a big surprise to many considering that just a few days earlier he had been profiled in a New York Times article about what an astute businessman he was. It turns out that he had a lot of shady advisors managing his money. In any event, he eventually recovered and he’s super rich again. Of course, this didn’t stop him from alluding to his previous financial troubles by posing next to a car that is definitely not a Lamborghini (actually a Smart Car, if you need to know) and joking about it.
5. Steve Harvey
Big follower of beauty pageants, are you? Me neither. Whenever I get invited over to a friend’s house for a huge Miss America Pageant party, I usually make up an excuse for not coming like, “Wish I could come, but my great-great grandpa died.” I don’t feel bad because it’s technically not a lie, it’s just that it happened, like, 100 years ago. But even I know about that time when Steve Harvey hosted the Miss Universe contest and accidentally declared runner-up Miss Colombia as the winner instead of the actual winner Miss Philippines. Although he obviously screwed up and was probably ordered to stay at least 1,000 miles away from any Miss Universe Pageant ceremony for the remainder of his life, he found time to make fun of himself a mere 5 days after the blunder when he went on Facebook and wished everybody a “Merry Easter” on Christmas Day.
6. Justin Bieber
First of all, I’m Bieber-neutral, okay? I’m not a Bieberliever or whatever they’re called, but I have no reason to hate him or any other Canadian. He’s a world-famous male solo pop star and that’s pretty damn hard thing to do in a genre dominated by female artists. The thing that I do like about Justin Bieber is that he isn’t a diva. He’s parodied himself on SNL and has allowed himself to be roasted on Comedy Central and Between Two Ferns. A few years ago he also released a series of emojis on Google Play and the Apple Store that include some of the lowest moments of his celebrity life. You’re laughing at him, he’s laughing at him. We’re all laughing together, see?
7. Barack Obama
God, remember when Barack Obama was president? Feels like an eternity ago. One of the things that really contrasts him from the current president is…well, everything. But especially Obama’s ability to not always take himself seriously. For instance, during all of that nonsensical birther nonsense about him being born in Kenya, he used the opportunity at the Press Correspondents Dinner to make fun of himself by teasing footage of his birth, which actually turned out to be the famous scene from The Lion King where baby Simba is introduced for the first time. This was also the same correspondents dinner where Trump was mocked mercilessly, which may have inspired him to run for president in the first place. Oops.
