Minutes after the end of the presidential debate against Donald Trump last week, pop star Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris and how. By announcing to her 284 million followers on Instagram, Swift broke her silence on the 2024 vote, “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.”
While Swift’s social media nod took an altogether different course with almost unparalleled repercussions, celebrity endorsements are nothing novel in the world of politics.
As the United States of America gears up for its 60th quadrennial presidential election on November 5, several Hollywood heavyweights take sides aiming to sway the results with their share of the influence. Interestingly, the celebrity voices have entered the presidential race in a variety of indirect and interesting ways in recent weeks.
The ones rooting for Harris
Apart from Swift, another pop star Billie Eilish along with her brother Finneas, made a video about why she would be voting for Harris. “Because they are fighting to protect our reproductive freedom, our planet and our democracy,” said the sibling duo in a joint video. A day after this endorsement, Eillish also allowed the Harris-Walz campaign to use her song When The Party’s Over. If the popular female voices are anything to go by, the American celebs, a majority of them being women, are stoked to have Harris as the first female president of the US.
The issue of reproductive rights has clicked and made many join the Harris bandwagon. Singer and actress Barbara Streisand has also come out in support of Harris because of her claims to fight for the reproductive rights of women. Others to throw their weight behind the current Vice President are Star Wars actors Mark Hamill, Rossie O’Donnell and Jamie Lee Curtis. Reluctant to lend her support to any candidate in 2020, businesswoman and lifestyle influencer
Martha Stewart came out in support of Harris during an interview on the sidelines of an influencer forum recently.
After Biden dropped out of the race, a lot of big names from showbiz turned their support to the next in line Harris. In July, pop singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo also backed Harris in an Instagram story by resharing a TikTok clip from Harris’ first campaign rally where she promised, “to stop Donald Trump’s extreme abortion bans.”
Hollywood megastar George Clooney, who has been quite instrumental in his political affiliations, lent his support to Harris. In June, Clooney headlined a fundraiser for Biden’s reelection campaign that raised a whopping $ 28 million for the Democratic Party.
However, later Clooney wrote a newspaper op-ed calling for Biden to drop out of the race and lent his support to Harris. Musician John Legend has not only previously endorsed Harris by saying he was “so ready” for her presidency but also praised Taylor Swift for her endorsement. Hollywood legend Robert De Niro, who had earlier lent support to a campaign for Biden, has said that “there is nothing more important for our country than defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box.”
Those supporting Trump
While Trump’s support base in the celebrity world might seem to have shrunk as compared to the 2020 elections, several artists have come out in support of the former US President in the ongoing campaigns too. In July, rapper and reality TV star Amber Rose gave a speech at the Republican National Convention cheering for Trump.
Among the other big names supporting him is rapper Kanye West. Last month, a group of Trump supporters at Beverly Hills were treated to front-row tickets to a surprise Kanye West appearance at their rally. Angelina Jolie’s father and Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight endorsed Trump not just in 2016 and 2020 but has also compared the former President to “biblical figures.”
Last week, during a rally in Las Vegas, reggaeton star Nicky Jam made an appearance in support of Trump. Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan literally showed his chest-thumping allegiance while on stage at the Republican National Convention last month. Hogan ripped off his shirt to reveal a Trump-Vance campaign shirt underneath and called Trump, “a hero and the greatest president of the United States.”
A few of his supporters have shown their allegiance more by criticizing Harris as compared to directly praising Trump. Billionaire Elon Musk has thrown his weight behind the Republican former President, partly by also trolling Taylor Swift for her endorsement of Harris. Taking a jab at Swift’s endorsement of Harris where she signed off as “Childless Cat Lady,” Musk tweeted, “Fine Taylor – you win— I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
Musk’s criticism was far less direct than Trump’s four-word outburst in all caps that came within days of Swift’s post. “I hate Taylor Swift,” he wrote. Swift’s post has drawn over 9 million likes and fuelled speculations that it could boost the Democrat ticket. Celebrity voices may not all affect the final figures, but they matter, they make news, they make the political campaigns interesting and entertaining.
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