Robert Downey Jr. Compares Influencer Culture to ‘Evangelical Hucksters of the Information Age’

Robert Downey Jr. has some blunt thoughts on influencer culture and its impact on the artistic world and Hollywood.

The Iron Man actor, 61, appeared on the Sunday, April 26 episode of the Conversations for our Daughters podcast, where he discussed the future of traditional show business and the role that social media influencers may — or may not — have in it.

“When I hear people talk about, ‘Oh, the stars of the future are going to be influencers,’ I go, ‘I don’t know what world you’re living into, but I think that that is absolute horse s**t,’” Downey Jr. said.

The Oscar-winner went on to explain that his 13-year-old son, Exton, had a brush with influencer culture that he found alarming.

“He kind of got caught up in this whole influencer thing,” he explained, “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?’ And really, it becomes a religion.”

“So there’s something about the influencers today are almost like the evangelical hucksters of the information age,” the Avengers star continued. “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.”

Downey Jr. explained that he personally tries to avoid getting down any kind of social media rabbit hole, arguing that if he gave into that culture, he’d lose something authentic about his acting work as well as his public persona.

“People say, ‘Robert, they just love it when you’re just kind of like seeming off the cuff, and they’re getting a glimpse into your life.’ And I go, ‘but I’d be manufacturing that aspect for them,’” he added. “So it’s BS. I like things that feel a little more prepared.”