A new survey conducted by YouGov asked Americans about media coverage about celebrities and if it was fair. And whether they feel coverage of celebrities had gotten more fair in the last 20 years.
43% of Americans say the coverage of pop superstar and icon Britney Spears has been unfair throughout her storied career. 18% say coverage of her was very or somewhat positive. Lindsay Lohan is another former child star who was asked about. 37% say media about her was negative generally and only 15% say it was positive. King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson had 30% say coverage of him was negative, But nearly equal shares say it was generally positive (28%) or negative (30%).
Of the celebrities asked about one who Americans agree on has been least covered badly by the media is actor Ryan Gosling. With just 4% saying he was covered negatively. There are nine whom men were more likely than women to see has being covered positively. Taylor Swift (62% men vs 55% women), Janet Jackson (36% vs30%), Michael Jackson (32% vs 24%), Drake (28% vs 21%), Britney Spears (22% vs 14%), Macaulay Culkin (22% vs 16%), Chappell Roan (21% vs 11%), Amanda Bynes (18% vs 10%), Shia LaBeouf (18% vs 12%).
Women were more likely to say coverage of Lindsay Lohan was somewhat or very negative (41% vs 34%. Women are also more likely to say Spears was covered somewhat or very negatively by the media, 45% vs 40%. 37% of Americans say media coverage of Spears was mostly unfair. Nearly equal numbers say it was fair (36%). 31% say coverage of Lohan was mostly unfair and 35% think it has been mostly fair.
The celebrities that Americans are most likely to see as having been covered positively and fairly throughout their careers are Taylor Swift (67%), Will Smith (63%), and Justin Timberlake (60%). For each of the 16 celebrities asked about, men are more likely than women to say they were covered mostly fairly by the media. Pop star and actress Ariana Grande has the smallest gender gap with 54% of men and 52% of women saying she has been treated mostly fairly but he media. The gap for Gosling is also small: 54% of men and 49% of women say he has been treated well.
19% of Americans say male celebrities early in their career are covered fairly. 19% say the same for male celebrities later in their careers. 16% say the same about female celebrities early in careers and 11% say the same for female celebrities later in careers.
Americans are more likely to say women are treated unfairly by media later in their career, 23% say its generally unfair and 11% say it is very unfair.
Women are more likely than men to say that women early in their career are treated unfairly by the media (31% vs 24%). And on women later in their career being treated unfairly (39% of women vs. 29% of men).
Many of the celebrities asked about have been famous for at least 20 years, including some who began careers as children. Americans were more likely to say that media coverage of celebrities has become less fair in this time than to say it has become more fair.
18% say it has become more fair in the last 20 years. People aged 30-44 are especially likely to say this: 28%. But an equal share of this group (29%) say it has gotten less fair.
27% say coverage is getting less fair and the largest share say there has been no change (32%).