Rosa Sanchez
What snack were you eating when Taylor Swift broke the internet by endorsing Kamala Harris? It was Trader Joe’s popcorn for me. The superstar’s instantly viral “childless cat lady” post on Instagram came hours after the presidential debate between Harris and Donald Trump, and in her raw statement, Swift voiced that she would be backing Harris come November 5 because: “I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.”
Swift’s statement was a turning point in Harris’s race against Trump, not because as a star-chasing society we value the “Fortnight” singer’s views on politics above those of political experts, but because her influence—on any topic—can move mountains.
If you need proof, look at what has happened in the weeks since. The Democratic National Committee has created billboards across the country with Swift-inspired lyrics. One in Times Square reads, “We’re in our Kamala era,” a nod to the pop star’s record-breaking Eras Tour; another reads, “a new way forward …Ready For It?” referencing the name of one of Swift’s hits. The campaign has also been using Swift’s music at events and selling beaded friendship bracelets, which became popular at Swift’s concerts, branded for Harris and running mate Tim Walz (the Minnesota governor actually wore a stack during his debate against JD Vance). They even created an “I will vote” snapchat filter for Swifties attending the Eras Tour in Miami to use.
Whether she meant to or not, Swift has become a central part of the Harris campaign; Trump even declared, “I hate Taylor Swift,” so that’s how you know. And while the singer’s endorsement may have had the largest impact on the Harris race, she leads a pack of musical icons including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Eminem, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, John Legend, and Charli XCX, who’ve all publicly backed the Democratic nominee. Others, like Adele, Celine Dion, the Foo Fighters, and the estates of Prince and Sinead O’Connor have indirectly backed Harris by blocking Trump from using their music for his campaign. And many film stars, including Sarah Jessica Parker, Kerry Washington, and Leonardo DiCaprio, have also voiced their support for Harris.
Just this Friday night, Beyoncé and Rowland made a grand joint appearance at a Harris rally in Houston, Texas, and gave impassioned speeches supporting the candidate. “I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician, I’m here as a mother—a mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided,” the “Texas Hold ‘Em” singer—who gave Harris permission to use her hit “Freedom” as her official campaign track—said. But, of course, it’s hard to disassociate Beyoncé, the mom of three, from Beyoncé, the global superstar, even when she’s talking about politics—and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing.
“I think celebrity endorsements can be very valuable to campaigns for [several] reasons,” a political strategist who asked not to be named tells me. “They’re citizens just like the rest of us. The difference is they have a much larger platform than most of us, so I think many of them feel they have a responsibility or obligation to use their platform. Or even if they don’t feel a responsibility, they know they have an opportunity. If they speak out, it will make news and enter the discourse.”
She explains that if a campaign leverages a celebrity endorsement correctly, it can “help identify voters, recruit volunteers, and actually be incredibly useful to the ground game.” She points to Beyoncé’s appearance at Harris’s event Friday, and says that hopefully, the campaign had an army of field organizers there “recruiting volunteers, helping people check their polling locations, getting people’s contact info, and ensuring people have a plan to vote.” She adds, “That’s potentially thousands of identified supporters and volunteer prospects. If even 100 people who go to that event then knock on doors or make phone calls, that’s a big increase in capacity to the ground game. And that’s not including the news cycle, social media posts, and talk online.”
Celebrity endorsements can also be helpful in connecting with people who weren’t previously politically engaged. “Maybe you don’t follow politics, but your favorite musician just endorsed a candidate. Well, now you might Google that candidate and learn more about why they’re supporting them,” the source says.
And a third reason? Well, money. She notes: “Rich and famous people have rich and famous friends who can fundraise for your campaign.”
Still, there can be downsides to celebrity endorsements, mostly for the celebrity. Take what happened to Chappell Roan, for example. While relatively new to the music scene, the “Good Luck, Babe!” singer has garnered a massive and incredibly passionate audience, much of which is made up of fans in the LGBTQ+ community. So, when in an interview and subsequent TikTok video she explained why, despite the fact that she is voting blue, will not endorse Harris (because she doesn’t agree with all of her policies), fans had very mixed reactions, and many claimed that by refusing to endorse Harris, she was essentially supporting Trump’s homophobic and transphobic views.
With Swift, there is an entire side of TikTok run by a slew of white Republican women who are bashing the singer for using her power to endorse “the wrong candidate;” and there is another side composed of conservative fans defending their right to be Trump supporters and Swifties.
“We are a celebrity-obsessed culture, whether we care to admit it or not,” the political strategist says. “If we didn’t care about celebs, we wouldn’t care if they weighed in on politics or not.”
Eminem’s endorsement also came as a shock to many, mostly because despite being a proud and outspoken Democrat, his lyrics have at times pushed a violent, sexist, and homophobic rhetoric parallel to that touted by Trump and his MAGA followers. The rapper is aware of this, and has chucked it up to his “poor white trash” upbringing, but he’s stood firmly by his criticism of Trump, having previously compared him to Adolf Hitler, blasted him in a nearly eight-minute track titled “Campaign Speech” on October 19, 2016, the day of the third and final debate between Trump and then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and labeled him a racist and hypocrite in a freestyle rap performance at the 2017 BET Hip Hop Awards. Eminem even acknowledged in his 2018 song “Chloraseptic (Remix)” that he “practically cut my motherfu***ng fan base in half” by being so loudly anti-Trump, but in true form, he couldn’t care less.
“I do think celebrities, depending upon their relationship with their fans, can be in a double-bind,” the political strategist says. “Conservative fans of Taylor Swift would be thrilled if she endorsed Trump. They don’t actually think she should stay out of politics, they’re just mad that she doesn’t support their politics, and they feel a sense of betrayal due to the parasocial nature of many contemporary fandoms.”
“On the other hand,” she adds. “It shouldn’t have been a surprise that Chappell Roan’s majority-queer fanbase had a negative reaction to her initial non-endorsement of Harris this year. Even if she made some thoughtful points, this is a community (the queer community) that is under attack and rightfully feels very threatened by the prospect of a second Trump presidency. So, of course they want their leaders and luminaries and icons of the community to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them.”
Like with everything for those in the public eye, influence comes with power and with consequences. Swift’s endorsement was explosive because for years, her fans had been begging her to speak up about politics and world issues—and she hadn’t. They had been asking the same of Beyoncé, who carefully stayed out of the conversation in the Harris vs. Trump race until 11 days before Election Day.
When I discussed this topic with my colleagues, the phrase “damned if they do and damned if they don’t” seemed to be the general consensus. In an election so consequential for women, immigrants, and humanity as a whole, can we really blame the entertainers we idolize for breaking character to remind us they’re human, and they’re worried?
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