What Can You Learn From a Celebrity Master Class on Empathy?


Williams is one of many celebrities to jump into this cultural trend. In the early 2000s, he founded a streetwear brand called Billionaire Boys Club, shared with a notorious 1980s Ponzi scheme; Wrote together in 2013 Robin Thicke hit “Blurred Lines,” which was criticized by feminists for its “greed.” He now sells goods under the Humanrace brand, “with the belief that taking better care of ourselves can teach us to take better care of each other,” and speaks of “opening your mind” with reactions and understanding to the Thicke song. “How can it make someone feel?” In terms of branding, the Masterclass makes perfect sense.

But from many other perspectives, it’s an odd proposition. For one, takeaway tends to be disappointingly self-serve. In his second lesson, Williams talks about how his solo hit “Happy” made him a less selfish person – because he made a song that really made others happy and then watched it do so well. Gloria Steinem, Ms. He talks about starting Magazine as an act of empathy. Ultramarathon runner and Peloton manager Robin Arzón talks about a sudden diabetes diagnosis that didn’t stop him from running an important race, and how it inspired other diabetes sufferers. Most of those described seem to culminate in personal achievement rather than anything related to others.

Self-actualization, of course, is different from empathy. And while some forms of empathy are certainly teachable—there are books, meditations, soup kitchens, nursing homes, and family members that offer great opportunities for empathetic practice—watching influential people talk about their lives is unlikely to do so. The selling point here seems to be more about comfort and validation. The course is as comfortable as reading a picture book about Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a child before bed, or as virtuous as planting a sapling. “WE BELIEVE NO PEOPLE ARE ILLEGAL IN THIS HOUSE” sign on a luxury suburban lawn overlooked by security cameras. A cast of thoughtful, optimistic, largely Black and brown figures pat their assembled audience on the back, essentially reassuring them that yes, they’re on the right side of history, they’re part of the solution, just because they paid to be there. .

Perhaps the course is a gateway to action for some, just as watching a cooking show can make them hungry for cake. But mainly, what this Masterclass offers is the chance to feel closer to the people we like to stand in their shoes. There’s less to say about any shoe that can be more difficult to imagine walking in. actually needs to be filled.


Source photos: Screenshots from Masterclass

Mireille Silcoff is a writer based in Montreal. The artist, who has been a newspaper and magazine columnist for a long time, is the author of four books, most recently the “Chez l’Arabe” story collection.



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