Why Kelly Clarkson's Billboard Music Awards "moment of action" critique of a "moment of silence" was so flawed

The Atlantic

Clarkson wanted to do something more productive by having a "moment of action" in honor of the victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting. "She said, in essence, that whatever you believe, you should do something about it, rather than remain apathetic or paralyzed," says Spencer Kornheiser. "But there’s something troubling, too, in critiquing silence as too timid and then declining to say what you actually think should be done to prevent the next horror. Clarkson did imbue powerful emotion in her speech, drawing upon her own roots in Texas. Yet at an awards show devoted to the profitability of music more than its content, she stood vulnerable to the most cynical critique of what pop stars do: sell a feeling, and nothing more."