Therapist Analysis: Why Influencer Silence on ICE Violence Sparks Public Outrage
If you venture into the comment sections of prominent social media influencers' posts currently, you will likely encounter numerous messages urging them to address the ongoing crisis involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Many individuals who are deeply disturbed by the killing of American citizens by ICE officers, the separation of families, and the detainment of people—including children—are calling on content creators to leverage their substantial platforms to condemn this violence and mistreatment.
However, a significant number of influencers are not responding to these calls. Instead, they continue posting their usual content or share vague, apolitical statements that avoid directly confronting the situation. A recurring justification emerges: that their account is intended to be "light" and that they do not "do" politics. This stance is generating considerable frustration among their audiences.
Parasocial Attachments and Feelings of Abandonment
According to mental health professionals, feeling angry and disappointed by this silence or inaction is a natural response, even if you do not personally know the creator you follow. Emma Shandy Anway, a licensed marriage and family therapist based in California and owner of ESA Counseling Services, explains the psychological dynamic at play.
"Your relationship to an influencer in the psych world, we kind of think about it as a parasocial attachment figure," Shandy Anway said. "These are people that we don’t really actually know, but we trust them and we admire them."
When you feel attached to someone who becomes silent during a period of "collective universal harm," it can evoke feelings of relational abandonment. An influencer who has supported followers through personal milestones like breakups, pregnancies, trips, and home renovations suddenly appears absent during another critical moment. We consulted therapists to dissect this dynamic and understand why the rage toward silent creators is intensifying more now than in previous political conflicts.
Silence as Implicit Agreement with Power Structures
Silence often angers people because it can be interpreted as agreement. Meghan Watson, the founder and clinical director of Bloom Psychology & Wellness in Toronto, notes that silence can read as an alignment with power. If someone isn’t speaking out, it’s reasonable to infer they have nothing to say because they agree with what may be happening.
"A lot of what we’ve been seeing with ICE is a complete abuse of power — that almost seems a bit weak to say, it’s more than just an abuse of power. It’s a degradation of humanity and the norms of engagement in society," Watson stated.
This behavior has altered how people interact with power, she added. People are no longer remaining silent themselves, and they expect brands, celebrities, and influencers to speak up as well. "When you are silent, that implicit alignment with the power ... is, I think, anger-inducing to a lot of people," Watson emphasized.
Emma Mahony, a therapist who works with patients in Pennsylvania and the U.K., added that influencers typically maintain high transparency. Followers often know details about their relationships, skin care routines, and even health problems. When that transparency becomes opaque in situations like this, it proves frustrating and problematic for followers who have come to expect honesty and hope for aligned values.
The Problem with Neutrality and 'Both Sides' Arguments
While some influencers choose to say nothing about the ICE situation, others attempt to keep their opinions "neutral," which many followers find equally unsatisfactory. For instance, TikTok influencer and reality TV star Taylor Frankie Paul posted a statement comparing different violent incidents, which many criticized as equating unrelated tragedies.
Social media users responded with comments like, "This is human rights, girl!! not silly little MomTok drama!!" and "She said a whole lot of nothing." Other influencers have stated, "I usually don’t post about politics because I like to create a joyful place for my followers" or "I don’t want politics to divide us." Therapists indicate that while this acknowledges the situation, it can be just as problematic as staying quiet.
"Neutrality is one of those things that really requires a distance from harm," Shandy Anway explained. "You can afford not to engage." It’s a way of saying, "I’m not at risk" and "I don’t have to have a feeling about this," which represents a significant privilege, she added.
As families endure confrontation and communities worry about friends and neighbors, it feels jarring to watch people share their latest clothing hauls. "There’s relational ruptures when creators or influencers don’t use their influence in the way that an audience expects, or their values diverge, and I think when people are facing execution, detention, deportation, family separation, extreme trauma, this 'both sides' conversation language feels like an erasure of lived harm," Watson said.
Moreover, a person can only afford neutrality when they themselves are not at risk, Watson noted, which only fuels the rupture many feel with influencers currently. "It feels like people aren’t just angry. They’re really grieving a values mismatch and they’re setting expectations around participation in developing a moral and just society with those who have influence," she concluded.
Breaking Trust and Community Betrayal
Influencers regularly thank followers for their support, but silence or neutrality during a time of immense harm reveals that this gratitude has limits. Common influencer refrains like "Pre-order my cookbook!" or "Use my discount code to buy these pajamas!" rely on followers taking their instructions to generate income. Without a community engaging with their posts and purchasing recommended products, influencers would not maintain their status.
Mahony highlighted this as a core component of the current anger. "These are people whose careers and followings have benefited off of community ... but when it comes to that person showing collective support back to other people, [some] are unwilling to do that," Mahony stated.
Watson added that influencers differ from traditional celebrities; they were elevated from "regular people" to their current status because of their followers. When someone doesn’t post in support of a community, "it almost feels like the door closed behind them, not just literally, but systematically, too. They’re disinterested in the people that built their platform," Watson said. "And whether that’s for monetary reasons or for just their pure political beliefs, it’s very disheartening to see someone make that decision that their community matters up to an extent."
This dynamic breaks trust with the influencer, Mahony noted. Followers who have spent years adhering to someone’s parenting or skin care advice may now question their alignment entirely. "It does make you question the authenticity of the person," Shandy Anway affirmed.
The Responsibility to Speak Up Extends Beyond Immediate Crises
Therapists assert that influencers do have a responsibility to speak up—and not solely for one specific group. Watson describes influencers as participating in a forum of reciprocity, exchanging their knowledge and taste for follows, likes, and purchases from users. She stressed it is "vitally important" for content creators to comprehend this dynamic.
"From an influencer perspective, I think if you are going to participate in the marketplace of exchange, you need to be prepared to give," she said. "If you are asking people to give time, attention, money, energy, in exchange for influence and power and access and privilege and voice, that voice may be asked ― demanded, in fact ― of you to be used to support the people that got you to where you are," Watson elaborated.
While speaking up now is crucial, therapists acknowledge that this responsibility extends before and after this particular moment as well. Watson, speaking as a Black woman, observed that she sees considerable content from people of color, especially Black individuals, commenting on the shock within their communities. Statements like "this isn’t the America I know" are currently ubiquitous, but for many, this does not resonate.
"It almost feels like a sick joke," Watson expressed. "I don’t know a single Black person that is unsurprised by this. I don’t know a single Palestinian that’s unsurprised by this — we watched people get executed on the world stage for years, and everyone seemed to be OK with it, but now it’s impacting a different intersection."
Watson emphasized that this does not diminish the value of recent lives lost, including Renee Good and Alex Pretti. However, she noted that Keith Porter, a Black man fatally shot by an off-duty ICE officer on New Year’s Eve, does not receive the same recognition. "Even when you’re demanding people speak out, the context to which they speak out is also extremely disappointing, because they have been executing Black people in the streets for years and years and years in the United States, since the history of the country," Watson said.
"We’re kind of now ready to fight. It wasn’t a five-alarm fire then, but it’s a five-alarm fire now," Watson concluded, highlighting the evolving expectations for influencer accountability in times of social and political crisis.
