What’s up guys, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. with Clevver News, and after months of celebs urging
us to vote, Election Day has finally arrived in America.
The day to cast our vote for the future of America has officially come, but as celebs
continue speaking out on matters they feel most passionate about, some opinions have
since been met with so much criticisms resulting in a complete loss of their most loyal fans.
Over the past few months, celebrities have been taking advantage of their platforms with
the potential to reach millions by actively urging fans to vote. But they’ve also been
speaking out on important issues based on differing political policies.
But when doing so, they open the floor to a wave of discussion, backlash and criticism
from people who either agree or completely disapprove of the message being relayed.
Many have even lost loyal fans and followers in the process, so the question remains: what
is one willing to potentially compromise in order to voice what they feel is important
for the world to hear?
Demi Lovato made her stance very clear when releasing an entire song directed toward President
Trump, called “Commander In Chief”.
The song made headlines for Demi’s powerful and emotional lyrics, singing QUOTE, “But
you can't get enough of shutting down systems for personal gain, fightin’ fires with flyers
and prayin’ for rain. Do you get off on pain? We’re not pawns in your game.”
Although she earned massive amounts of praise, Demi was also harshly criticized for “attacking”
Trump and angering Republicans who support him… some of which even threatened they
would no longer listen to her music and were “ashamed”.
Demi shared one response of a user who wrote, “I hope you realize this makes people who
don’t have the same political views feel like they can’t listen to you anymore. I’m
personally ashamed to be a Lovatic right now, but no matter how hard it is, I’m not letting
this song change my feelings about you, especially after everything you have helped me with.”
Demi responded by saying, “You do understand as a celebrity, I have a right to political
views as well? The difference between me and the type of artist YOU want and EXPECT me
to be (but I’m sorry honey that will never BE me), I literally don’t care if this ruins
my career.”
Demi went on to explain that she simply made a piece of art that stands for something she
believes in, and while she understood the risk that it came with, she’d QUOTE “take
integrity in my work over sales any day.”
Taylor Swift only recently made her political stance known as she’s proudly endorsed many
liberal candidates over the past few years.
She used to be notably hush-hush about her views, which angered many Democrats and allowed
for people to begin projecting views onto her, but just before the 2018 Senate race
in Tennessee, Taylor began sharing petitions in support of LGBTQ rights.
She even called on the White House during her VMA speech, telling fans QUOTE, “You
voting for this video means that you want a world where we're all treated equally under
the law, regardless of who we love, regardless of how we identify.”
Her consistency and efforts in shedding light on political agendas angered many Republicans
and even caused President Trump to state that he liked her music “about 25% less now”
following her endorsement of the Democratic Senate candidate Phil Bredesen in Tennessee
over Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn.
Former fans have chimed in writing tweets like, “Mixing your politics with your music
can only accomplish one thing: a reduced revenue. I saw you on River Front with curls and cowboy
boots and have followed you ever since. Now I press skip every time Spotify attempts
to insert a song of yours in a playlist.” And another person said, “I really thought
you were a very smart lady but this has turned my thoughts around full circle. I don't understand
how anyone that had a brain would consider doing this sorry for your misjudgment on this
very important matter.” Something tells me Taylor really couldn’t
care less and is likely still going to sleep with a massive smile on her political pout.
Vince Vaughn on the other hand, was chastised by many fans after a video of him conversing
with Donald and Melania Trump at the 2020 College Football Playoff Championship in New
Orleans, and even shaking his hand.
The video went viral, which caused an eruption on social media with thousands claiming they’ll
“never watch a movie of his again”, while another user wrote, “That tells me all I
need to know about Vince Vaughn.” Although Vince has previously described himself as
a Libertarian, fans have been angered over his views in supporting Republican candidate
Ron Paul back in the 2008 and 2012 elections.
He was also previously outspoken on his stance on gun violence during an interview with British
GQ in 2015, claiming he was against gun-free school zones and banning guns in general,
so naturally, shaking President Trump’s hand came as a continued slap in the face
to many Americans.
Chris Pratt has been making headlines after actress Ellen Page outed him in supporting
a church known to be famously anti-LGBTQ, to which he responded by sharing to his Instagram
stories QUOTE, “It has recently been suggested that I belong to a church which ‘hates a
certain group of people’ and is ‘infamously anti --LGBTQ.’ Nothing could be further
from the truth. I go to a church that opens their doors to absolutely everyone.”
Chris also began to lose followers after many noticed that he neglected to take part in
the Avengers virtual hang held last month where fans received access to a Q&A if they
made a monetary contribution to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ campaign.
Avengers stars including Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Ruffalo, Zoe Saldana, Paul
Rudd and Donn Cheadle, participated in the event, but many were quick to point out that
Chris Pratt was noticeably absent.
This caused fans to search for any evidence they could to prove that Chris was a Trump
supporter, and based on some of the accounts he allegedly has been following infamous Conservatives
Ben Shapiro and Dan Crenshaw on social media for a while now.
Although it’s been reported that Chris’ wife Katherine Schwarzenegger is a Biden supporter,
Chris has been noticeably silent on the matter, which hasn’t seemed to bode well for fans.
And finally, Mark Wahlberg’s stance on political views involving celebrities and using their
platform to support a given party has landed him in boiling hot water over the years.
Back around the time of the 2016 presidential election when hundreds of celebs endorsed
Hillary Clinton, Mark was asked why he didn’t get involved in or openly endorse a given
party, to which he told Task and Purpose magazine he felt that QUOTE, “A lot of celebrities
did, do and shouldn’t give their political opinions.”
He attempted to back his claim by saying that people “aren’t listening” when celebrities
get political, adding QUOTE, “They might buy your CD or watch your movie but you don’t
put food on their table. You don’t pay their bills. A lot of Hollywood is living in a bubble.
They’re pretty out of touch with the common person, the everyday guy out there providing
for their family.”
Mark also argued that he feels more aware of the issues other Americans are facing because
he “exists in the real world.”
He said, “Although I can navigate Hollywood and I love the business and the opportunities
it’s afforded me, I also understand what it’s like not to have all that.”
This sparked mixed reactions from many with major criticism as fans chimed in by saying
things like QUOTE, “They should be allowed to voice an opinion if they want to just like
we all can even if you agree with them or not it's called ‘freedom of speech’ & ‘democracy’.”
Another person said, “Just because you're not involved or aware of what’s going on
doesn't mean everyone is? A lot of actors care & pay attention.”
Mark continues to keep his political views private, and it seems his stance isn’t likely
to change any time soon.
To see which other celebs have spoken out ahead of the election, you can click right
over here to watch another Clevver video.
Then be sure to let me know which of these celebs you think didn’t warrant the backlash
they received for speaking out right down here in the comments.
I’m your host Emile Ennis Jr., bye guys!