Opinion | ‘It’s Time for Celebrities to Step Up’

I want to make a case for performative politics. “[Expletive] ICE is all I want to say. Sorry.” It’s worth listening to this bit of video from Jennifer Lawrence. “Celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for.” I think this was actually wrong. We need to have voices that are elevated by the algorithm, and some of the voices that the algorithm tends to favor are the voices of celebrities. A lot of these celebrities have stayed out of politics because they think it’s not what their fans want from them. “People shouldn’t care to hear my opinion, man. You know, I’m a dumb redneck.” And I also think part of it is they’re worried about getting attacked by this administration. “Lady Gaga…” [Booing] “Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person.” Now, we’ve long heard that performative politics and performative allyship is bad because it’s performative. “It was a terrible thing that happened, and it shouldn’t have happened. But I don’t need to wear a pin about it.” But there’s no way that if all of these people push back, that they will be able to silence all of us. “Trump is using military forces to stop a protest.” “We’re not animals. We’re not aliens. We are humans, and we are Americans.” The reality is, it would be really helpful to have a few of these celebrities come out for pro-democracy efforts, for free and fair elections, for supporting voters and supporting political activists who are doing the hard work on the ground. “I want to make sure that my voice is heard, but also that I lift up other voices.” If you could just get a few really big celebrities out there saying what the rest of us are saying —— “It’s time to say no to Donald Trump. We’ve had enough.” I mean, a good example, as we all know, Taylor Swift. “So it’s going to be forever.” She defies the laws of celebrity gravity. She can do whatever she wants. “Getting married in the middle of Manhattan at the world’s most famous arena on a holiday weekend.” If she would come out and just have a few pro-democracy statements about what’s happening at this moment, I think that would be meaningful. “We’re seeing a 400 or 500 percent increase in people come in and trying to register to vote. We’re calling it the Swift effect now.” When celebrities talk about things, it gets more attention. And that can be protests at Delaney Hall in New Jersey. That can be poor treatment for migrant families. That can be things that otherwise normal voters might not see. People on the ground are risking their lives. Bravery begets more bravery. It’s time for celebrities to step up, too.