Michael is joined by Bernard Salt, Managing Director of The Demographics Group and columnist with The Australian & Herald Sun newspapers, who writes that in the old days – prior to the 1980s, celebrities knew their place; their job was to look pretty, to exude wit and/or charm, to dress glamorously and to attract fans.

 

But today’s celebrities have extended this brief to include the opportunistic promotion of a popular cause.

 

And with the awards industry flourishing, there are any number of platforms that enable today’s celebrities to pout, preen and pose on a red carpet just as they have always done, but with the added opportunity of offering “spontaneous” advice to the non-celebrity world about their pet subject.

 

Climate change is a favourite.  Never mind that the celebrity lifestyle involves private jets, multiple homes and a range of egregious consumption sins committed against the environment.