Dear Mr. Putin

by Cheyenne Wise

In March 2020, Gal Gadot released the infamous “Imagine” video on her Instagram page, an asinine attempt to convey solidarity with a world being ravaged by COVID-19. The rich and famous banded together to imagine a world with “no possessions” while people around the country suffered a social, health and economic crisis wasn’t what the world needed at the time.

The whole thing was cringy and overall tone-deaf. Step aside, Gal Gadot, because a new savior is here to stop the Ukraine crisis. Actress AnnaLynne McCord, self-proclaimed human rights activist and anti-human trafficking ambassador, released a slam poem video in an attempt to make Russian President Vladimir Putin stop and feel the love. McCord’s over 2-minute long video implies she might have been able to change the Russian leader had she had been his mother.

Don’t worry Ukraine and everyone else, another white American has once again stepped up to the plate to put a stop to this devastation.

“Dear President Vladimir Putin: I’m so sorry that I was not your mother. If I was your mother, you would have been so loved,” chanted McCord.

Putin should be on his knees sobbing at the realization that all he needed was love, right? McCord continued, lamenting that if she was his mother, she would have died to make him warm, to protect him from the unjust, violence, terror, and uncertainty, and to “give you life.”

If you aren’t convinced that American influencers can save the day, you need to look again. John ‘You Can’t See Me!’ Cena tweeted out, “If I could somehow summon the powers of a real life #Peacemaker I think this would be a great time to do so.” Cena wished upon a star that his DC character Peacemaker was real so he can help, making sure to tag the marketing account for the show.

All that’s missing from this A-Team is our girl Kendall Jenner with her can of Pepsi to take the front lines.

Watching the atrocities in Ukraine unfold on top of dealing with the savior complex of these influencers is just disgusting. These influencers are so sincere in thinking that they are uplifting the masses, when in reality they are doing the absolute least. The last time a group of influencers gathered together and actually created change was in the 80s, when “We Are the World” raised millions of dollars in aid of Africa.

The performative activism of celebrities during these times is unneeded and repugnant. To them I say: keep your slam poetry and songs to yourself. The world doesn’t need cheering up, especially from people like you.