One of the omnipresent Kardashian clan, model Kylie Jenner agreed to be the high-school prom date of a student in Sacramento, California. To make it even more special, Jenner arrived with a television film crew in tow, presumably to harvest wonderful memories and not at all because, unless she keeps taking endless footage of herself, she’s plunged into a deep existential crisis where she ceases to exist everywhere but a QVC home foot spa presentation.
Everyone from Taylor Swift to Rihanna has done this “go to a prom with a fan” thing now. It’s crashing down the celebrity food chain faster than you could say “nauseating, patronising PR opportunity”. Maybe they genuinely do it out of the goodness of their hearts, but it has long struck me as condescending: “Oh look, wonderful me going to your prom, lighting up your shabby little existence. Make the most of it, it’s the biggest thing that’s ever likely to happen to you.”
A tad sour? Maybe, but there’s another dimension. Proms are supposed to be an opportunity for “normals” to get to feel like celebrities, so doesn’t someone famous pitching up kind of defeat the object?
