Rich COVIDiocy? Why do the rich and famous seem more vulnerable to crank beliefs such as antivax?

During COVID times, it seems many different celebrities or at least rich and famous people have revealed their antivax views that seem, on the surface, ridiculous, as in "how could they believe that?"  

Nicki Minaj is famous for "my cousin's friend" tweet that claims a non-existent incident of vaccine injury. She is, of course, unvaccinated, and did not attend Met Gala because of that. 

We have Evander Kane of the NHL suspended for 21 games, very likely because he turned in a fake vaccination card to get around the NHL vaccine mandate. 

And now we have Aaron Rodgers of the NFL claiming his homeopathy treatment is as good as COVID vaccination, but caught COVID anyway, AND mislead the public, claiming he was "immunized". 

Now we have to add Steve Kirsch, a tech millionaire who turned antivax when early research on some of the drugs he backed didn't pan out. 

What caused them to make these decisions which to the average Joe, seems irrational? 

What I see are a couple common factors, but it all comes down to money and ego. 

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* They believe they are smart (smarter than they actually are)

Minaj and Rodgers both claimed to have done their own research. 

* They can afford to hire people who agree with them

Rodgers apparently has a "medical team" and his "doctor" prescribed him homeopathic treatments. 

* They see the rules as an affront to their own beliefs

Rodgers had publicly stated that he doesn't believe in NFL/NFLPA's rules on masks and vaccines. 

Kirsch basically went nuts when his medical board urged caution when it came to a new drug that shows some promise for treating COVID (it's NOT what you think it is... it's fluvoxamine). National Institute of Health wanted a bigger study to confirm it, but Kirsch tried to push his board of directors to endorse the drug anyway. The board refused and most resigned, and Kirsch went full antivax after that, decided the world is against him and his beliefs. 

* They believe (with good reason) that they will suffer little to no consequence from their actions

Of the four mentioned, only Kane received punishment. Rodgers is still spewing his views on various talk shows, and Minaj... well, the media seems to have temporarily forgotten about her. Kirsch made himself an outcast but is courting the antivaxxers. 

But that'd only explain the rich and famous... So what made the average suburban soccer mom or marginalized population go antivax? We will discuss that in a future blogpost.