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Ashlee Simpson Protest: Resistance or AntiPopism?
“Hey hey. Ho ho. Ashlee Simpson is a no-talent goat.”
That sort of taunt, made up this very second, could very well be included in the grass-roots movement to embarrass Ashlee Simpson today at Much Music. The group making the noise, headed up by some Ry-High students, has put forth the following message:
We are meeting in front of Ryerson’s School of Image Arts building (122 Bond Street, close to Sam The Record Man) at 1:00 pm on Tuesday. From there, we’ll venture down to 299 Queen Street and set up shop before her real fans get out of elementary school. If
you can’t make it at that time, don’t sweat, you can just show up at the CHUM City building before 5 pm. The show runs from 5 – 6 pm and we plan to boo for as long as possible. If we get tired of booing, we’ll switch to chanting. If you feel the need to bring a sign, try to conceal it from security, as we don’t want to be removed before the
start of the show. This is a peaceful protest, by the way. If we are asked to leave by way of force, then we’ll leave. Our goal is to have some fun, not to get arrested.
We are also trying to get people who can’t attend in person to call in with fake questions to get on air, then ask/say something to Ashlee that they really want to say. For example, “What’s it like knowing that once your fans grow up, they’ll realize you have no
talent?” The possibilities are endless.
From one perspective, to call this antipopism is an understatement. “Operation BOO,” as it’s called by organizers, projects quote-unquote elite musical tastes onto others (disliking Simpson is a matter of taste, condemning Simpson fans is a matter of none-of-your-business). And not only does this undermine the importance of public protest, but it also adds to the congestion around Queen and John. From another perspective, it must be funny to someone somewhere.
Next entertainment protest: Stop Aki Berg!