Rock
Paul McCartney takes swipe at influencers ‘who don’t seem particularly talented’
Paul McCartney says he’s baffled by influencer culture, admitting he doesn’t understand how people with “no particular talent” can become globally famous in the social‑media era.
Sir Paul McCartney has admitted he is completely baffled by modern influencer culture and the rise of celebrities “who don’t seem to be particularly talented”.
The 83-year-old Beatles legend opened up about fame in the social media era and confessed he struggles to understand how internet personalities can become globally famous almost overnight.
Appearing on The Rest Is Entertainment podcast with Richard Osman and Marina Hyde, McCartney said: “I think a lot of this influencer stuff - I just don't really get it, because I'm not that generation.
“But I see it, you can't help it. My wife will be looking at Instagram and showing me something, and then one of those will come on.”
The Hey Jude songwriter then took a thinly veiled swipe at online fame culture.
He said: “I think it's funny - and I suppose it always happened - but people who don't seem to be particularly talented are incredibly famous. Billions of hits and views.”
The music icon quickly acknowledged his comments might make him sound old-fashioned.
He joked: “You've got to be careful about talking about that, because it makes you sound very old-fashioned. Which I am.”
Having spent more than six decades as one of the world’s most recognisable stars, McCartney also reflected on how attitudes towards fame have dramatically changed since the height of Beatlemania in the 1960s.
The Beatles in 1964/Credit: Getty Images
He insisted celebrities of his generation embraced public attention rather than complaining about it.
McCartney said: “I think the big difference is in yourself. When you're first famous, you love it - because it's what you were trying to achieve.
“So something goes well, people in the street recognise you, and you love it. There was none of this, ‘Oh, people are bothering me’ - that's a modern affliction. We loved it. And you learn to deal with it.”
Despite being one of the most famous musicians in history, he also revealed why he now refuses to pose for photographs with fans when approached in public.
The Let It Be hitmaker explained that constantly taking pictures with strangers makes him feel uncomfortable and disconnected from himself.
He said: “I say I don't like to do it because something important to me, something related to your question about innocence and staying normal, would be lost. The minute I start thinking I'm something above myself, I won't like me.”
The Liverpudlian then compared himself to an attraction he once saw in the South of France.
He continued: “And I go into this long explanation about how, down on the south coast of France in Saint-Tropez, there's a man on the beachfront who has a monkey, and you pay to have your photo taken with the monkey.
“I really do not want to feel like that monkey. And when I take a picture with someone, I do feel like him. I'm not me anymore - I'm suddenly something else.”
Listen to the full The Rest Is Entertainment episode here.
