Zach Galifianakis wants Democrats’ campaign to focus less on stars

Zach Galifianakis thinks the Democratic Party should slow its roll — at least when it comes to endorsements from the stars.

The Hangover actor recently voiced his opinion about how Democrats involved in the current election campaign should approach their Hollywood supporters.

“As a small-town guy from North Carolina… I do wish the DNC would step back from the celebrities a little bit,” he told Variety this week at the premiere party for Only Murders in the Building season 4, in which he stars. “It works to a point, but they have to win over rural America.”

Galifianakis’ concern seems to stem from his fears that the non-famous American public views the entertainment industry as out-of-touch elitists. “Hollywood thinks it’s so important and that’s a problem,” he said. “Actors are people too, and they’re citizens too, but I’m more on the small-town side of that than I am on the Hollywood side of that. That’s just me.”

Meanwhile, Kumail Nanjiani — who has joined the star-studded cast of Only Murders‘ fourth season alongside Galifianakis, Eva Longoria, Eugene Levy, Melissa McCarthy, and Molly Shannon — told the outlet that he plans to work with the Kamala Harris campaign in whatever capacity he can. “I’m going to make videos to get people to register to vote,” he said, adding, “I might make some appearances later.”

“It’s really unbelievable how I was feeling a month and a half ago and how I’m feeling now. It’s really inspiring,” Nanjiani said, referring to the renewed passion Harris’ candidacy has inspired in Democrat voters after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race in July. “This has given me faith in humanity. I just feel lighter and happier. I am going to say I am fighting to stay hopeful and not get too optimistic or confident. There’s still a lot of work to do.”

The 2024 Democratic National Convention featured appearances from a wide variety of celebrities, including Longoria, Oprah Winfrey, Stevie Wonder, Stephen Curry, Mindy Kaling, Kerry Washington, Kenan Thompson, John Legend, Lil Jon, Common, Maren Morris, Tony Goldwyn, and Jason Isbell.

Galifianakis has questioned the connection between celebrity culture and politics in the past. “America’s obsession with celebrity is a mental illness,” the comedian declared in a 2022 appearance on Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.  “It’s how we ended up with a celebrity president,” he said, referring to former POTUS Donald Trump.

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In fact, when Trump was initially campaigning in 2016, Galifianakis said he had “no interest” in having the ex-Apprentice host on his comedy talk show Between Two Ferns, despite having invited Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama as guests. “He’s the kind of guy who likes attention — bad attention or good attention,” Galifianakis told the Los Angeles Times. “So you’re dealing with a psychosis there that’s a little weird. I wouldn’t have somebody on that’s so mentally challenged. I feel like I’d be taking advantage of him.”