Both of these celebrities, alongside another slew of high-profile actors, singers, and public figures, participated in the 2024 election by endorsing presidential candidates and urging fans to vote. Some celebrities even went as far as to join candidates on the campaign trail, performing and speaking at rallies. Hulk Hogan roared in favor of Donald Trump, and Megan Thee Stallion twerked in support of Kamala Harris.
Celebrity endorsements are nothing new and in fact have been a popular political strategy over the years, but the debate still continues: is the support detrimental or essential to a winning campaign?
To answer this question, we first have to find out which demographic is most susceptible to having their vote swayed by a celebrity. Typically, this would be young, first-time voters whose political knowledge is slim to none–those who are susceptible to the swaying opinions of their favorite pop-star. A survey on the subject also shows that Democrats are more likely than Republicans to vote because of celebrity encouragement at 13% versus 5%, which are still minute margins. Even so, 11% of American voters said that a celebrity endorsement has caused them to reconsider their position on a political issue, and 8% said that a celebrity encouraging voter turnout actually did prompt them to vote.
Celebrities and public figures do have the ability to reach a wide demographic of potential voters. Perhaps their fans and viewers do not watch CNN or Fox News, but they do tune into a livestream or tap through an Instagram story. Celebrities can reach those who do not participate in conventional political platforms, or already formed political opinions.
On the other hand, these glitzy endorsements may backfire when celebrities are viewed as out of touch. When this is the case, average American voters may be offended and will not take their opinions seriously. When Cardi B spoke at a Harris rally and said that even she, a popular and wealthy musician, cannot afford groceries, did anyone really believe her? Of course not, and they definitely did not appreciate being taunted by such a transparent façade.
Subsequently, voters might question the authenticity of these endorsements, wondering whether the praises sung by the mouths of celebrities are bought and paid for, or if they are genuinely impressed by the candidate.
The way celebrity endorsements work is that these public figures are able to fire up potential voters who are previously disengaged from the political process. It is typically never to spread information about specific policies, but is instead to energize voters about a certain candidate. In order for celebrity endorsements to work, the figure must be able to influence voters in favor of the chosen candidate, or to make voters feel more confident and comfortable about the candidate who has already won their vote. For either strategy to work, citizens must care enough about the celebrity in the first place. This is not always the case. What if there are Americans out there who have become dissatisfied with the idolization of celebrities, and believe that they should stay within their job requirements.
Some Redditors had quite a bit to say on the subject:
“People aren't entertained by political lectures. They show up and spend their money to take a break from work and stress and all that.”
“No one gives a s*** about politics right then and there and they don't need some rich disconnected elite telling them about them either.”
“I think its completely reasonable for anyone, even celebrities, to talk about politics. But when they dont or havent researched anything or know nothing about the topic. Only using their large following to spead their political ideas/agenda. Then they can shut up.”
“Celebrities are people. People have a right to voice their opinion on politics. Just because they’re well known people doesn’t mean that right is less important.”
There are two sides to the story and a plethora of opinions but we must give credit where credit is due. Taylor Swift urged fans to register to vote by placing a link to Vote.gov in her instagram story. In the 24 hours the story was live, there were a whopping 405,999 visits, trumping the site’s daily average of 30,000. Whether those visits were from new voters, registered voters, or just curious followers, we can’t deny that this is an obvious display of the influence celebrities carry in political campaigns.
Unfortunately, not even Taylor Swift could win the election for Harris. Maybe next time, Swifties.
