"celebrity is the chastisement of merit and the punishment of talent"

I would guess this is saying that celebrities spend too much time on their appearance or whats being said about them in the media instead of putting more time and work into their talents. For example, musical artists would waste time spending money instead of sitting down and working on a way to create an album that's not like every other song on the radio. No one, in my opinion, has any unique style right now. Everything being sung or rapped is either about getting down in the sheets, getting high, heartbreaks or bragging about how paid they are. They just throw in some bass and it becomes the number one club hit for some reason or make a collaboration and gain a title as a rockstar! Celebrity is a punishment! unique and original music is dead.

C.D