I'm sorry, but this simply is not true. You can absolutely, 100%, easily buy fame in America.
Elon Musk is actually a perfect example of this. Remember when he bought Dave Chapelle and made him introduce him at the end of his set? Sure, he got booed, but he also made the news and nothing was ever going to stop that.
You can also literally buy media companies, or spots in the media, and simply put yourself in the news.