Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie Don’t Need Brand Deals to Matter (aka The Capitalist Misreading of Success)
I'm HudCon down. I'm Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie down. And I'm glad they get to make money, they absolutely deserve it. BUT. But. Fans celebrating their brand deals not because we get to enjoy them looking pretty in their ads and commercials, but because the deals provide ammo for proving their fave is somehow better, more talented, or more successful, or that their team is smarter, rubs me the wrong way. Big time. Like their brand deals are the ultimate sign of their success.
Actors and artists should get paid, of course they should. But a brand deal says nothing meaningful about their art or their talent. It says an artist or an actor is marketable, digestible, and profitable. That’s it. This mindset reflects an extreme capitalist culture, where worth is measured by monetization. It’s a system designed to value what sells over what resonates or what has cultural impact.
Art stops being about expression and starts being about extraction when success is framed through sponsorships and partnerships. Fans start acting like shareholders who cheer for monetization.
This is truly late‑stage capitalism at work. Value is measured by revenue, and legitimacy is granted by corporations. Visibility is mistaken for substance.
When I see fans pitting Hudson and Connor and their brand deals against each other, I want to scream. If the highest praise you can give them is that a company wants to profit off them, you’re not celebrating their art or talent. You’re just proving how thoroughly consumerism has hollowed out your idea of worth. Brainrot of epic proportions.
They, or art in general, don’t need corporate validation to be meaningful!
