As the 2020 Democratic nomination trudges on, many celebrities are coming out to endorse their favorite candidate. Others stay silent. After the 2016 election, many faced criticism for not doing enough to promote voting, especially for the younger demographic. However, it seems as though this time around, people with a voice are now using it whenever they can. While celebrity endorsements are certainly nothing new, we ask ourselves about the morality of celebrities endorsing specific politicians and even specific parties when they have young, impressionable fans. Should celebrities use their voice to tell people who to vote for, or should they stick to simply telling people to vote, regardless of the candidate?

As of right now, Bernie Sanders has over 100 celebrity endorsements, from musicians like Ariana Grande and Vampire Weekend to models and media personalities such as Hailey Bieber and Emily Ratajkowski. Sanders’ public support is vast and diverse, with some of the most prominent names in the entertainment business publicly showing their support in one way or another.

The support ranges wildly, from both large proclamations to small, almost insignificant mentions. Hailey Bieber, for example, told Elle in February she would vote for Bernie, but has yet to mention any further endorsements on social media, allowing her comments to stay under the radar. Vampire Weekend, on the other hand, played at Bernie’s charity concert in February, making their support for the presidential hopeful known. Fans of Bieber might not know how she stands politically unless they were to deep dive, whereas a simple Google search of Vampire Weekend will show you all you need to know about their current political beliefs.

Izzy Hessler ‘22, an avid Elizabeth Warren supporter before she dropped out of the election in March, expressed how necessary endorsements are. “I think it’s really helpful that celebrities are using their platforms to endorse progressive candidates, Warren has had a good number of these, and the campaign takes the time to make graphics with their endorsement quotes, which is really cool.”

For many Emerson students, getting a progressive candidate in office is the ideal situation, and if that means the endorsement of Bernie through an Instagram photo from Ariana Grande, then that is okay with them.

One name who has been particularly vocal about politics recently is Taylor Swift, who broke her political silence in 2018 after publicly endorsing Phil Bredesen for the Tennessee U.S Senate seat. While also encouraging her millions of fans to register to vote, Swift began to vocally make her political opinions clear, despite being close-lipped about it for the past 10 years. Swift continued to voice her concerns over politics, publicly slamming Donald Trump and eventually creating a petition for the Equality Act, which protects LGBTQ+ rights from discrimination in places of work, schools, and homes.

Despite these grand political gestures, Swift’s voice has been notably absent during the primaries. Assuming she will endorse and publicly support whoever wins the Democratic nomination, it makes sense that she wouldn’t want to endorse a candidate too early on in the race. If that’s the case, though, should every entertainer with a large audience avoid putting all their eggs in one basket?

While this political action was inspiring to many, others don’t necessarily think that celebrities have to be a major influence in politics, as that is not what they came into the industry to do.

“As much as people hope they use their platform for change, because of the power and influence that celebrities have in this generation, I think it is important for them to use that platform, but they’re not necessarily qualified to represent politics,” Laura Phillips ‘22 said.

Of course, there’s no right or wrong answer when it comes to how involved, or uninvolved, entertainers should be when it comes to politics. As far as serious issues such as voting for presidential candidates, it’s important for these celebrities to have a grasp on the influence they have. Vampire Weekend might not have a fan base the size of Taylor Swift’s, but Ariana Grande does, and her casual Instagram photo with Bernie could sway the opinions of millions. As we all head to the polls this November, it will be interesting to see how many young voters will be impacted by whoever’s in the Billboard charts, or if the celebrity endorsement is just another thought that will go in one ear and out the other.

Musicians Supporting Politicians