cult

/ˈkəlt/

French & Latin; French culte, from Latin cultus care, adoration, from colere to cultivate

noun

  1. a religion regarded as unorthodox or spurious; also : its body of adherents

  2. great devotion to a person, idea, object, movement, or work (such as a film or book); especially : such devotion regarded as a literary or intellectual fad

  3. the object of such devotion

noun phrase

  1. the tendency of people to care too much about famous people

He criticizes the way journalists promote the cult of celebrity in modern America.

noun phrase

  1. a situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved