Minutes after the presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump earlier this month, pop superstar Taylor Swift posted her long-awaited endorsement of a presidential candidate on Instagram.
"I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them," Swift wrote in her post which, at the time of this writing, has accumulated over 11 million likes. "I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades."
She signed the Instagram post, "Taylor Swift, Childless Cat Lady," referencing vice presidential candidate JD Vance's deriding quote about "who's running the country."
Her fanbase, the Swifties, could finally exhale, especially since earlier that same week, Swift had been photographed publicly hugging vocal Trump supporter Brittany Mahomes and critics were speculating that she too was possibly voting for Trump (or would at least be complicit by staying silent this election cycle).
Those critics ultimately ended up being wrong, but the whole scenario begs one serious question that still has us scratching our heads: Why does an endorsement from Taylor Swift matter so much?
The reality is that the most-followed people on social media are soccer players and pop stars. Swift's post potentially reached her 284 million followers and made international news, so whether we like it or not, celebrities can have massive political sway during elections if they choose to use their voice. Her fans hang on to every word Swift has to say, and her opinion can tilt the scale – even for the people closest to her.
After Swift's endorsement of Harris, Trump posted "I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT" on the Truth Social platform, with the DailyMail reporting that Mahomes was "deeply bothered" by Trump and his followers attacking Swift. "Taylor is like a sister to her and she has done absolutely nothing wrong," an unnamed source said about the debacle. "This shook her to her core."
So at least one mind was changed by Swift's efforts.
Rising pop star Chappell Roan is another one of the latest controversial figures in politics after the Midwest Princess told The Guardian that there were "problems on both sides" of the aisle.
"I have so many issues with our government in every way," she said. "There are so many things that I would want to change. So I don’t feel pressured to endorse someone. There’s problems on both sides. I encourage people to use your critical thinking skills, use your vote—vote small, vote for what’s going on in your city."
Back in June, Roan declined an invitation to perform at the White House's official Pride event and called out the Biden's administration's handling of the Israel-Palestine conflict. She told Rolling Stone at the time that she didn't want "to be a monkey for Pride," adding "I’m pretty, ‘F--- the government, and f--- everything that’s going on right now.' I don’t have a side because I hate both sides, and I’m so embarrassed about everything going on right now."
Some critics on the left believe Roan's stance is hurting Harris' chances at beating Trump in November's upcoming presidential election, but it's not Roan's job to unite the party. Hopefully, her stance puts pressure on the Harris campaign to become even more progressive, and fight for a ceasefire in Gaza.
But again, this all begs the question in the first place: Why does an endorsement from Chappell Roan matter so much?
While there are probably many, many answers as to why the public at large takes so much importance from some of our fave pop girlies endorsing (or in some cases, not endorsing), wed be remiss not to mention the fact that the same political pressure is often not applied to pop culture's leading men. Where does Post Malone stand politically? Who is Morgan Wallen voting for? Will Smith? Benson Boone? Kendrick Lamar? Kevin Hart? The Rock?
In a September 11 feature story forThe Hollywood Reporter, singer and producing powerhouse Pharrell Williams even went so far as to say that he simply doesn't "do" politics.
"In fact, I get annoyed sometimes when I see celebrities trying to tell you [who to vote for]," he said. "There are celebrities that I respect that have an opinion, but not all of them. I’m one of them people who says, 'What the heck? Shut up. Nobody asked you.' When people get out there and get self-righteous and they roll up their sleeves and sh*t, and they are out there walking around with a placard: 'Shut up!'"
Obviously, not all men. John Legend and George Takei were some of the first celebrities to endorse Harris. But as a gender, they certainly don't face the same pressure to be as political as their female peers.
We've come to expect women to do their homework, craft a message and speak loudly and often about their politics, then we rake them over the coals for their opinion. However, men with potentially massive sway over their peers not only skate by in silence, but they also encourage it amongst each other.
This social media age has curated a general public too lazy to do our own research, so celebrities have become some of our go-to political guides. But the thing we have to remind ourselves is that Taylor Swift and Beyoncé aren't activists. They're not scholars or political analysts. They're entertainers. We've decided they must hold the right opinion (which is also a fallacy) 100 percent of the time, and that is simply not human or remotely realistic. That's certainly not the job they signed up for, even if they still have more sway that political analysts and presidential candidates sometimes combined.
If you're okay pressuring Roan and Swift, just make sure you're keeping that energy with the men you listen to as well...
