The Daily Nebraskan
From The Beatles to Kim Kardashian, celebrities have always had a strong influence on the lives of people. With the increased use of social media in the last decade, celebrities have been able to share their private affairs with the world, thus infiltrating the thoughts and lives of viewers more than ever.
As celebrities become more vulnerable and humanized, people have looked to them for their political standings. Although there are celebrities who are vocal about their political opinions, others have decided to be more private about their thoughts.
This divide has caused disputes across the internet. While some people argue that celebrities have the obligation to speak out on current world issues due to their influential platforms, others believe that celebrities are not politicians and should not be treated as such.
There is much to be said about both sides of this argument, but first we must examine the influence celebrities do have on people.
Taylor Swift fans, or “Swifties,” are among some of the most loyal and committed fans on the internet. For Swift’s ongoing Eras Tour, she has sold over 4.35 million tickets across 60 tour dates worldwide.
This is just one example of the devotion fans hold. Swift has shown her influence over the population time and time again, and this was even seen in a political stance. Although she has never publicly endorsed a candidate, she shared a post to her Instagram last year on National Voter Registration Day urging her American followers to register to vote.
The website Swift directed her fans to, the nonpartisan, nonprofit Vote.org, recorded more than 35,000 registrations following her post. This directly caused young people to register to vote; the number of 18-year-olds registered doubled from 2022.
On the other hand, popular celebrities and influencers have used their immense following and influence to spread negative political messages. Internet personality and former professional kickboxer Andrew Tate has used his stronghold on young men’s social media to spread hateful messages supporting misogyny and sexism.
Tate went on to be accused of forming an organized criminal group in 2021 and trafficking women across Romania, Britain and the United States. Prosecutors in Romania filed an indictment against Tate and his brother last June, and while he was detained he sought the backing of two right-wing politicians from his prison cell in Romania to help fight rape and trafficking allegations.
Although the politicians did not agree to endorse Tate, his strongly right-wing content has caused young, impressionable teens to follow him and support his views. There have been positive and negative examples of celebrities using their platform to spread their political ideals, and people believe that it is a celebrity’s duty to speak out on current world affairs.
In recent developments, the latest war between Israel and Hamas has caused many individuals to speak out about the ongoing issue, and many have also looked to celebrities for public statements as well. Although some celebrities have spoken out about this, such as Pedro Pascal, Billie Eilish and Angelina Jolie, other public figures have decided to stay silent.
Actress and singer Selena Gomez decided to make a post on her Instagram speaking directly about this conflict. Although she stated that violence of any kind is intolerable and must be stopped, she remained vague and did not endorse either side in the war.
The internet took this opportunity to bash Gomez for her failure to directly support either side. Instances like this have popped up in the past six months, for celebrities either not speaking out or taking a side that their audiences did not agree with.
Although there are arguments to be made on whether or not celebrities should be open about their political standings, it is important to note several things. First, celebrities are not experienced politicians. While every individual should be aware of the current political climate along with the important history tied to this, pop singers working on albums likely are not focused on this.
On the other hand, celebrities do have a strong platform, and with this comes the ability to influence audiences. As seen before, celebrities can cause their followers to make positive changes such as registering to vote, but others can use their power to spread hate and negativity.
This ongoing debate does not have a clear-cut answer. While in a perfect world, every public figure would have ethical opinions and political standings but this is just not the case. It is important to take into account the reasons why or why not celebrities may be vocal about their political beliefs rather than jumping to conclusions. Celebrities have a strong influence and power, and with that comes heightened responsibilities as the public eye is constantly fixated on them.
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