Taylor Schilling has some choice words for Kim Kardashian and celebrity culture in new interview

 

Taylor Schilling is on the cover of this month’s Elle Canada–and the interview the Orange is the New Black star gave the magazine is well-worth reading. Schilling dishes (and, some might say, throws shade) on a wide array of celebrity-centered topics, including the widespread popularity of selfies, the constant need for celebrities to push themselves via social media, and the Kim Kardashianification of image.

In response to a question about whether social media is supposed to be about identifying with people and making connections, Schilling was both introspective and blunt:

 

There is something so sad about going online and seeing almost everyone shouting ‘Notice me, notice me!’ Which is such a human desire—to be acknowledged. But me responding to that with some sort of ‘You’re noticed, you’re seen’ only perpetuates the loneliness. Because I’m not seeing you; I’m not noticing you. And whoever you are, you so deserve to be noticed and valued. I feel lucky to have not grown up with the Internet because it forced me to get out, struggle and be so messy.

 

Schilling also elaborated on her appreciation for surgeon and writer Sherwin Nuland’s famous line “Everybody needs to be understood,” which has gained an almost cult following in the age of social media:

 

I think [that line] resonates so deeply because it’s the truth. Everyone knows that. We know when someone is truly being themselves. To come away from an interaction with someone and know that you really shared yourself…it’s the opposite of how I feel after being online. I feel really seen when I take that risk to be myself. But you have to be present for it. It doesn’t exist with a curated self; you have to share all parts of yourself – everything.

 

And, when asked whether she feels pressure to “share herself with the public,” Schilling brought out the name associated with over-sharing perhaps more than any other–Mrs. Kim Kardashian West.

 

It has almost become a defiant thing at this point because I do not believe this celebrity Kim Kardashian culture is what I signed up for. I’d rather create something honest than try to create something for a social-media account. Besides, my brain is just way too fragile for both….I am susceptible to what people think; I think we all are. So it’s just easier for me to not engage with it too much.

 

This interview is getting a lot of coverage under headlines that insist Schilling is “throwing shade” or “slamming” the Kardashians and the internet-obsessed public. If you read what she said, though, Schilling doesn’t sound insulting as much as she seems hopeful that people can forge more personal bonds than what they tend to get on the internet. Which, as everyone has noted at least once in their lives, can sometimes feel hollow or outright sad.

What do you think about what Schilling said? Does she have a point? Is she way off base? Should we all just be talking about how excited we are for the third season of Orange is the New Black? (It premieres on June 12, in case you forgot.)

 

(Photo credits: TS and KK via FB)