Being a fan of a celebrity means that you follow this person’s life, care about whatever their opinions are and maybe even idolize them. Most true fans follow their favorite celebrities via social media, where they get a digital platform of what their respected artist is up to.
With the upcoming election, certain celebrities have voiced their opinions about who they are or are not voting for, and interestingly enough, social media has proven what a difference it makes.
The younger generation is known to be a lot less serious than our elders about certain topics that are happening within the world, and the upcoming election is definitely one of them. Some younger people might not care about politics, or even voting, but whoever they are fans of, might make them care.
Celebrity endorsement can be known as an advertising strategy. Basically, celebrities can make a post or publicly say that they support a certain person, and it will gain the person they are supporting more publicity, or even fans. For example, Beyonce has been the covergirl of Pepsi products for 10-plus years. She is seen on billboards, magazines and commercials drinking Pepsi and has done a great job at being a loyal ambassador. If you are a fan of Beyonce, consciously or not, this might have swayed you to purchase or consume Pepsi products, and you did not even realize it.
The kind of celebrity endorsement that matters in this context, however, is the fate of the upcoming election in November.
If you are a fan of someone and they publicly make it known what their likes and dislikes are, or in this case their preferred political candidate, it is safe to say a part of that fan is going to see eye to eye with that celebrity. If not already supporting a side, they might switch up to see the political preferences of their favorite superstar.
One of the most well-known instances of endorsement was with world famous singer Taylor Swift and Vice President Kamala Harris. Taylor Swift publicly announced via Instagram that she would be voting for Kamala Harris. This gained an astounding amount of attention from her fans and potentially swayed people to vote for Kamala as well.
Why does this matter?
Essentially, when putting into perspective how many people might not have cared about the election but have the right to vote in the United States, seeing a household name vote for the Democratic candidate will change their mind. Seeing their idol Taylor Swift support a candidate in one of the most important events happening in the world will most definitely have them change their mind on if they will vote or want to vote. It is incredible how a simple Instagram post has and will affect who the winner of this election will be.
Celebrity endorsement is not just closed off to one side of the political party. On the Republican side, Donald Trump has had fellow celebrities openly support him via social media. He even had billionaire and CEO Elon Musk speak at his rally. While Elon Musk might be a controversial person, it is no secret that he has fans. In return, Musk’s fans seeing him get excited about Donald Trump, at Donald Trump’s rally, is a pretty good look for Trump.
With these examples being said, it raises the question whether this is the true celebrities political view, or if this is an act. What I mean by an act is if they are being paid or coerced to support a certain political candidate by that candidate’s managers, or whoever is affiliated with the election on the inside. While this might seem like a reach, as celebrities categorically are wealthier because of their fame, maybe they did it for money and this could be a response to greed. The public will probably never know if that is the case, of course.
The younger generation is quite literally the future of the world. Arguably, our voices matter the most, and we should be using them to fight for what some might not have the privilege to do. If we are able, then we should vote and we should care. Even if you do not know anything about politics, maybe take this election season to educate yourself. On the other hand, if all you know or care about politics is what your favorite celebrity is doing, your voice still matters. Vote!
Ansley Graves is a junior at UT this year studying journalism. She can be reached at [email protected].
Columns and letters of The Daily Beacon are the views of the individual and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Beacon or the Beacon’s editorial staff.
