Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Clint Eastwood, Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver, Steven Spielberg, Robert De Niro, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Anne Hathaway, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Beyoncé and Jay Z, Kanye West, Jon Voight, Kid Rock, Oprah Winfrey…
This is a list of the stars who have publicly supported specific Democratic and Republican presidential candidates in the past US presidential elections or even attended the national conventions. It is no exaggeration to say that it is a direct copy of Hollywood. Accordingly, voters are also interested in ‘which top star will support which candidate in this presidential election.’
The culture in the United States where celebrities openly reveal their political leanings and engage in active activities, just like professional politicians, was largely a backlash against the anti-communist movement “McCarthyism” that swept through American society in the 1950s. At the height of the Cold War, Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy led the effort to expel a large number of progressive actors, directors, and writers, saying, “I will root out communists in the cultural world.” In response, “witch hunts” ran rampant, with Hollywood celebrities accusing each other of being communists and leading the way in internal whistleblowing.
Since the end of this McCarthyism frenzy in the 1960s, a culture of openly supporting certain political parties and politicians has taken root as a backlash. Instead, raising questions about a certain person’s political inclination has become a sort of taboo. Another reason for the establishment of a culture of openly supporting politicians and political parties is that stars can increase the entertainment industry’s influence in politics by speaking out.
Now, the US presidential election and ‘stars’ have become inseparable. Let’s take a look at which stars supported which candidates in past presidential elections and what results their support led to.
● Sinatra supports both Democratic and Republican candidates
According to the History Channel, the first American celebrity to publicly support a presidential candidate was actor and singer Al Johnson during the 1920 presidential election. He starred in the first sound film, “The Jazz Singer,” released in 1927, and supported former Republican President Warren Harding. At the time, he gathered his fellow actors and sang a song he composed himself called “Harding, You’re the Man for Us.” He toured Ohio, former President Harding’s home state, singing the song.
Frank Sinatra, an actor and singer, had an unusual career as both a Democrat and a Republican, actively supporting major presidential candidates from both parties. An Italian-American and a Democrat in his youth, he gave several speeches in support of former Democratic President Franklin Roosevelt in 1944, when he was running for an unprecedented fourth term. He also led a fundraising event for former Democratic President John F. Kennedy in 1960. He had a close personal relationship with former President Kennedy.
However, Sinatra became a Republican supporter after the assassination of former President Kennedy. He became a Republican in 1972 and participated in the re-election campaign of former President Richard Nixon in the same year. He was an ardent supporter of former President Ronald Reagan, who was an actor.
Sinatra also attended the 1980 Republican National Convention in Detroit, Michigan, when former President Reagan was nominated for president. He said at the time, “I was a big fan of my old friend Reagan,” and “I no longer support the various liberal policies of the Democratic Party.” Former President Reagan won the presidential election that year.
Judy Garland, who starred in the 1939 film ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and sang the famous song ‘Over the Rainbow’, also supported former President Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election. At that time, she appeared at the national convention held in Los Angeles, California. She was so close to former President Kennedy that she sang ‘Over the Rainbow’ to him over the phone.
● Eastwood criticizes Obama with ’empty chair’
Since the 2000s, as the influence of top stars has grown and they have appeared in large numbers at the convention, some say that the convention is turning into something like the Academy Awards. In the 2008 presidential election, actors Robert De Niro, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson, and director Quentin Tarantino publicly supported former President Barack Obama.
At the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, director Steven Spielberg and actors Ben Affleck and Anne Hathaway appeared. Singer Stevie Wonder also gave a congratulatory performance. At the 2012 Democratic National Convention, when former President Obama was preparing for re-election, Johansson and Eva Longoria gave speeches.
Clint Eastwood, famous for his role in ‘A Fistful of Dollars’, is a rare Republican supporter in Hollywood, where most people support the Democratic Party. He appeared at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida in 2012 and gave a speech supporting then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
He received a lot of attention for his performance of placing an ’empty chair’ on the podium. He also criticized the achievements of the first Obama administration as being nothing like the ’empty chair’ in his speech. However, former President Obama calmly accepted the performance criticizing him by saying, “I’m a huge fan of Eastwood.”
● Strip-Weaver “Hillary” vs. Voight and Kid Rock “Trump”
In 2016, when former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton of the Democratic Party ran as the first female candidate for president in U.S. history, famous actresses such as Meryl Streep and Sigourney Weaver showed up at the convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Singers Katy Perry and Lenny Kravitz, and basketball player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also appeared at the convention. At that time, Beyoncé and Jay-Z appeared on stage with Clinton at the “Get Out the Vote” vote-gathering concert in Cleveland, Ohio, three days before the presidential election.
On the other hand, black rapper Kanye West, who recently visited Korea, supported Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. This was in contrast to most celebrities who unilaterally supported candidate Clinton at the time. After winning the presidential election that year, candidate Trump met West at his private residence, Trump Tower, in New York immediately after his victory. In 2018, he also invited him to the Oval Office in the White House in Washington.
In this year’s presidential election, ‘talk show queen’ Oprah Winfrey, who appeared as a speaker on the 21st, the third day of the Democratic National Convention, attracted a lot of attention. Longoria appeared as a speaker on the 22nd, and Weaver and others are also supporting Democratic presidential candidate and vice president Kamala Harris.
The Republican Party brought out singers Kid Rock and Lynn Greenwood, who have been close friends with Trump, and professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, to the convention. Kid Rock in particular received a huge response when he shouted “fight” during his performance. “Fight” is the phrase that Trump shouted when he stood up again after being attacked at a campaign rally just before the convention, and it is considered one of the main slogans of this presidential election among Republicans.
Jon Voight, a veteran Hollywood actor and also known as Angelina Jolie’s father, is also known as a Republican supporter. He has been an active supporter of Trump since the 2016 presidential election. He appealed for support for Trump through video speeches at the 2016 and 2020 Republican National Conventions. In April of this year, he announced on his social media that “President Trump will establish justice and subdue the beasts that are destroying our country.”
● Star support, fundraising – effective for young voters
How effective is this kind of star endorsement? Ashley Spillane, a former researcher at Harvard Kennedy School, told NPR, “The public has always had a desire to identify with celebrities. Celebrity endorsements generally increase attention and voter turnout for a particular politician.”
In particular, stars have a great influence in fundraising. In September 2007, ahead of the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, Winfrey held a fundraising event for former President Obama at her home in Santa Barbara, California. At the time, $3 million (about 4 billion won) was raised, and it is known to have been of great help in helping former President Obama beat former Secretary Clinton.
Celebrity endorsements are also effective in stimulating young voters. According to U.S. election officials, more than 190,000 voters aged 18 to 24 registered in the week after singer Taylor Swift urged people to register on social media during the 2018 midterm elections. That’s more than double the 88,000 registered voters aged 18 to 24 during the 2016 presidential election. In 2019, more than 33,000 people registered at voter registration booths set up at Ariana Grande’s concert tour venues.
In the United States, voters must register by a deadline set by each of the 50 states in order to vote on election day. Because of this, millions of people miss the voter registration period and cannot vote during each election. This is why Hollywood stars who are involved in political activities appeal to “register as a voter first.”
● Recent support expressions ‘cautious’ due to political polarization
However, as the polarization of American politics has accelerated recently, there are evaluations that the public support of certain candidates by stars is not the same as before. Pop star Mariah Carey, who is of Irish and African-American descent and has no connection to the Middle East, faced strong criticism from anti-Israeli forces after accepting President Joe Biden’s invitation to the White House in December last year. Those who criticize President Biden’s pro-Israel policies also poured out comments criticizing Carey as a “genocide sympathizer.”
Taylor Swift, who supported President Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election, has yet to publicly support Harris in this year’s presidential election. This is believed to be due to her awareness of young fans who are critical of the Biden administration’s pro-Israel policies.
The presidential candidates are also cautious. Former Secretary Clinton received overwhelming support from celebrities in the 2016 presidential election, but lost the election. Some say that both Hollywood stars and former Secretary Clinton, who were first ladies, were “too far away” for middle-class or working-class voters. At the time, candidate Trump received overwhelming support from the white working class. There is also analysis that the Democratic Party is using “star marketing” more cautiously than in the past in this presidential election.
● Preferring ‘SNS influencer’ over ‘star’
Accordingly, the U.S. political world has recently been actively utilizing social media influencers in the presidential election.
The Democratic Party invited around 200 creators active on social media such as TikTok and YouTube to this convention and actively supported filming. They provided a dedicated space and allowed unrestricted access to all events.
They laid out a ‘blue carpet’ that looked like something out of a film festival, using the Democratic Party’s symbolic color blue, and even threw a yacht party. AFP reported that the convention in the TikTok videos made by creators who received the utmost hospitality from the Democratic Party felt like a ‘festival’ rather than a ‘party event.’
Five creators, including Uruguayan current affairs TikToker Carlos Eduardo Espina and abortion rights activist Deja Fox, also appeared as speakers in support of Harris. The Democratic Party also explained why they were receiving the speakers, saying, “The combined number of social media followers of the five speakers is over 24 million.”
The dress Ella (25), daughter of candidate Harris’ husband, attorney Douglas Emhoff, from her first marriage, wore on the 22nd to support her stepmother, candidate Harris, was also a hot topic on social media. The dress was made of light blue satin and white chiffon fabric, and at first glance, it looked like a Disney princess. However, Ella wore glasses as usual and showed off her tattoos, showing off her Generation Z side.
The dress was created by Japanese-American designer Joe Andohirshi, who has about 6 million followers on Instagram and TikTok. Ella and Andohirshi also posted several short videos showing the process of making the dress, which has garnered a lot of attention from young people. InStyle predicted that Ella’s choice to work with the most popular Gen Z designer will be well-received by young voters.
The collaboration between politicians and social media influencers is likely to continue in the future, as many young voters respond to the suggestions and advice of specific influencers. According to the Pew Research Center, a polling company, on the 20th, 48% of voters aged 18 to 29 responded that they “use TikTok to keep up with political agendas.” This percentage was in the early 20% range for voters aged 50 and older. In addition, 45% of those aged 18 to 29 responded that “TikTok has a positive effect on democracy.” This was also significantly higher than other age groups. Analysis suggests that social media is the most effective way to target young voters who do not read traditional media such as newspapers or broadcasts but are interested in politics.
Reporter Choi Ji-seon [email protected]
Reporter Lee Cheong-ah [email protected]
Reporter Lee Ji-yoon [email protected]
2024-08-30 17:08:32