Let’s face it. As much as we might deny it, we love celebrities.
Even a hardcore conservative might pester Biden booster Tom Hanks for a selfie if they met in a coffee shop. We love their best movies and TV shows. They make our days brighter in the darkest of times.
Stars, in turn, have leveraged that bond by pushing their political views on unsuspecting fans. Case in point: Every presidential election in recent memory.
That part of the American-celebrity relationship may be waning. Or, at the very least, the presumed power a celebrity endorsement brings with it.
The proof? The biggest celebrity on planet Earth’s stamp of approval may have backfired. “Bigly,” as a certain real estate mogul might say.
Democratic pundits have been praying for two items all year long: One, that they could hide President Joe Biden’s obvious, age-related decline until Election Day. Two, that pop superstar Taylor Swift would endorse the elderly leader.
Her massive appeal and vitality could be what the octogenarian needed to drag himself across the finish line.
The Donkey Party went 0-2.
Democrats infamously turned their attention to Kamala Harris after Biden stepped aside. Would Swift throw her support behind a female presidential candidate, one afraid of an actual journalist? The singer didn’t join the Joy Brigade™ right away, but during the September 10 presidential debate she finally made it official.
She’s on Team Single Cat Lady, er rather Team Harris.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images
A post-endorsement survey, however, suggests that long-awaited endorsement might have been for naught.
A YouGov poll found that more than twice as many respondents were turned off by the endorsement as were more open to voting for Harris. Another poll found Swift’s endorsement may have hurt her brand.
Nothing is settled science, and other polls may find a net positive for the Swift/Harris connection. Still, it’s hardly the political slam dunk many expected from a Swiftian embrace.
The reliably liberal UK paper The Guardian similarly threw quick caution behind the Swift endorsement:
But ultimately, celebrities are not campaign or policy specialists, and a reliance on them can preclude straightforward engagement on issues.
The author cited the Left’s pro-Palestinian wing to support her case.
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Celebrities are undoubtedly key for drumming up political enthusiasm, but over-reliance on their reach can quickly become a double-edged sword.
The curious results didn’t happen in a vacuum. Weeks earlier, a major Hollywood magazine suggested a star-studded DNC event could backfire on Team Harris.
“Political Insiders on How Harris Campaign Is Cautiously Deploying Celebrities,” read The Hollywood Reporter account.
You don’t want to overdo the California, you don’t want to overdo the Hollywood when you’re painting a broad brush with the country. But anything that can get earned media in a positive way will be embraced,” says L.A.-area major fundraiser Jon Vein.
Liberal actor Zach Galifianakis of “The Hangover” fame agrees. He told the press Democrats should tone down the A-list accouterment when it comes to the Harris campaign. The actor cited his small-town roots for his rationale.
It works to a point, but they have to win over rural America … Hollywood thinks it’s so important and that’s a problem. 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.
Monica Schipper/Getty Images for IMDb
Perhaps he saw the most tone-deaf celebrity video of the modern era? Remember Gal Gadot and friends warbling, “Imagine” from their million-dollar homes while Americans were locked down during the early days of the pandemic?
Or, the actor realized inflation hits everyday Americans the hardest and A-list stars far less so.
Self-awareness isn’t Tinsel Town’s strong suit. Could that be changing?
What might happen next? In the short term, things won’t look much different. The stars will continue to align for the Harris/Walz ticket, no doubt. We’ve already seen enough cringe-worthy examples – White Dudes for Harris, anyone? – to support that thesis.
We might even get a few more celebrity videos where makeup-free actors repeat their progressive mantras in the hopes of going viral.
And, of course, changing hearts and minds. Hollywood is incredibly slow to pick up on social cues. Remember when one anti-war film after another flopped during the Bush years?
It took a half dozen or more duds (“Redacted,” “Grace Is Gone,” “Lions for Lambs”) for industry suits to say, “Hey, maybe the average consumer doesn’t want to see American soldiers denigrated on the big screen…”
And, mercifully, studios shut off the anti-war movie spigot.
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More recently, the industry began to understand the “Get woke, go broke” mantra has teeth. This past summer’s biggest films were woke-free, from “Bad Boys: Ride or Die” and “Deadpool & Wolverine” to “Inside Out 2.”
We recently learned the latter wrestled behind the scenes to ensure the finished film didn’t push Disney’s “not-so-secret gay agenda” as usual.
Hollywood learns like an easily distracted toddler – slowly and with plenty of exasperating lessons.
The same may hold true on the political front. It might take another full election cycle, sadly, before we see that reality sink in.
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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at @HollywoodInToto.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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