Everything Chappell Roan says and does will elicit a collective gasp from the internet, and her recent comments on voting are no exception. In September, Roan, “your favorite artist’s favorite artist,” announced through a TikTok that although she will be casting her vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz in the November presidential election, she will not endorse their campaign.
“I have so many issues with our government in every way,” said Roan. Her refusal hums a differing tune from so many other celebrities, such as Taylor Swift, who have rushed to declare their endorsements of various political campaigns. However, Roan’s statements can reveal a selfish truth behind the culture of celebrity involvement in politics. As young people, we like to believe celebrities have our best interests in mind when pledging support for politicians. Many of us see their endorsements as demonstrations of how they view their fans not just as a cheering crowd, but as people whose rights and wellbeing celebrities genuinely value.
Despite fans’ wishes, many of the celebrities that have endorsed political candidates are not the saviors that young voters have been deceived into believing they are. Celebrities that grant politicians endorsements often gain popularity from their engagement, thus it’s fair to infer that there might be ulterior motives involved in endorsing candidates. While profiting off of the vicious American political climate, some of these celebrities are further pitting us against each other and using it to promote themselves.
Hollywood has long been ingrained in American culture, with celebrities being the poster children of our country. It is no surprise that the behavior of many celebrities mirrors many of our own around election season, while rushing to announce their political beliefs and pin it on their lapel as a part of their identity, such as when several celebrities wore pins in support of a ceasefire at this year's Oscars ceremony. And young voters want to believe that these idols are the ones whose footsteps they should follow in. It becomes so easy to rally behind them and not realize that celebrity political involvement hurts us more than it helps us, that this further contributes to the political polarization ravaging our country by painting those with opposing political views as an enemy.
Many fans of celebrities — such as “Swifties,” were driven to the voter registration website en masse after her endorsement of the Harris-Walz campaign. They will now be more inclined to see those who do not support the same politician as their favorite celebrity as other — or even as foe. In turn, this will increase fans’ admiration of that favorite celebrity, as fans are shown that they share the same political beliefs as a celebrity. Albeit not explicitly, this endorsement preys on fans’ desires to be in groups that share similar beliefs and stand against those who do not, a trick pulled right out of a politician’s book.
Celebrities like Swift paint themselves as part of politics to avoid scrutiny from their fans, not because of their interest in politics. In the United States, which promotes the labeling of a defined political identity through the polar two party system, celebrities must ensure that their stances are displayed loud and clear, because not having a stance is a stance on its own. Many of the celebrities who have endorsed the Harris-Walz campaign — including Billie Eillish, Cardi B and Ariana Grande — are popular with Generation Z, which has largely been categorized by its fiery activism. This involvement is just part of celebrities’ brand: it bolsters their appeal to fans, retaining support and relevance. Once again, for example, Taylor Swift: she has branded herself as progressive via supposedly anti-racist song lyrics and photo-ops of Biden-Harris cookies before the last election.
In addition to keeping a grasp on their fans, a celebrity’s endorsement — something as easy as a short message on X or Instagram — can potentially draw in new fans from the political campaign they claim to support, further appealing to peoples’ desire to admire those with similar beliefs. And it is through this that we realize that multiple celebrities endorse politicians or highlight issues to elevate their own stardom, not because they truly care about the fans that grant them their elite status.
But politicians, too, are preying on these endorsements. In funneling support for a particular politician, these idols are handing politicians the opportunity to minimize the effort put into their campaign — effort needed to prove to the American public that they are the best person to elect. Politicians showcase support from celebrities as a banner of enticement for potential voters, thus snagging us without an appeal of true substance of the policies they intend to implement. This lessens the required work for potential public servants, allowing them to exert less effort for us — for bettering our lives. But not only that: The advertisement of celebrity endorsements forces grassroots activists to exert more effort in order to have their voices heard.
Pro-Palestinian activists, for example, were screaming their lungs out to Harris at the Democratic National Convention, to no avail. Endorsements from Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish enable Harris and other politicians to fully turn away from their demands and towards the glittery praise from celebrities. Celebrities are, essentially, clasping a hand over the mouth of the activist community as they cry out for change. In swaying public opinion with as little as one Instagram post, celebrities reduce accountability for politicians, which enables them to evade the demands of further action that activists beg of them.
Instead of fighting for us, celebrities are pouncing on the opportunity to keep our attention pinned on them. Celebrity support of politicians is selfish actions masked as helping hands. Preying on the chaotic political climate is entitled and manipulative. We must reject the illusion that celebrities’ lives are related to the lives of their fans and that they face the same struggles we do. They are not the smiling, civic faces we may view them as; they only care about their fans because their fame rests upon our shoulders, and to have us turn away from them would cause their collapse.
Josselyn St. Clair (26Ox) is from Eugene, Ore.
