Robert Downey Jr. Blasts Social Media Influencers as "Evangelical Hucksters"

Perhaps channeling Dr. Doom himself , actor Robert Downey Jr. scoffed at the idea of social media influencers being “the stars of the future,” calling the mere implication “absolute horseshit.” Guess somebody’s not a Mr. Beast fan, huh?

Downey’s comments came during his recent appearance on the “Conversations for our Daughters” podcast . In talking about “influencer culture,” he clarified that he doesn’t necessarily have an issue with people gaining fame “without ever doing much besides rolling a phone on themselves.” However, Downey does think think that “the challenge for individuation is being upped.”

The actor, who himself has over 58 million followers on Instagram , later said that he hopes these social media “stars” will open peoples’ eyes regarding how to more authentically gain celebrity or even just social credibility.

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“Hopefully the [larger] part of the youth of – let’s just call it America for locality’s sake – is gonna say, ‘Yeah, but that’s not my thing,” Downey said. “I want to go do something, I’m going to make something, I want to build something, I want to educate myself and I want to have more inputs, so whatever my output is, it isn’t just a self-aggrandizing kind of influencer-type thing.”

At least part of Downey’s issues address the idea of undue attention, or the over-emphasis on celebrity’s personal lives. Rather, Downey seems to think that that this attention has to come authentically, and not as some part of a larger social media strategy.

“People say, ‘Robert, they just love it when you’re just kind of seeming off the cuff, and they’re getting a glimpse into your life,’” Downey said. “And I go, ‘But yeah, but I’d be manufacturing that aspect for them, so it’s B.S.’ But I remember Jon Favreau, when we brought the teaser for Iron Man to Comic Con, he was tweeting on stage and I saw the audience… This is the new hue where the audience is going to feel like they’re on the steering committee of this thing. OK, so that’s the new landscape.”

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Of course, Downey’s own awareness of these issues also stems from his own 14-year-old son, Exton Elias. More specifically, the teen had at one point gotten “caught up in this whole influencer thing. And next thing you know, it’s like, ‘Hey, if you like the way I’m playing this video game, do you wanna send me a donation?’”

Added Downey, “And really, it becomes a religion. So there’s something about the influencers today that are almost like the Evangelical hucksters of the information age. At the same token, it’s different because we’re playing in this new territory and so it’s a little bit of a frontier and I don’t really have a judgment on it. I also know when I am promoting a film now I’ve gotten to know a few of these influencers, and I find many of them grounded, accomplished, cool people.”

A lot of what Downey said in the interview certainly resonates. Influencers absolutely operate outside of the “traditional” star-making system (i.e., Hollywood and the music industry), and that carries both concerns and some interesting developments. This “model” does open up new opportunities for people to generate money amid ongoing capitalistic decay, even if many of those opportunities end up emphasizing disposable content over meaningful art. At the same time, celebrity culture has always been quite worrisome, and Downey is of a time where stars were methodically made (and sometimes broken) by a large, equally cold machine. In the end, we can all at least agree on one thing: People need to stop making so many damn GRWM videos.

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Downey’s entire 90-plus-minute conversation touches even more on parenting choices, his personal life, and his extensive acting career, among an array of other topics. Check it out below. Then, see Downey go full-on Dr. Doom when Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18th.

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_Originally reported by [Consequence](https://consequence.net/2026/05/robert-downey-jr-influencers/)._