This is how some fans feel about Taylor Swift getting political
As fans headed to the Elas Tour on Sunday, several discussed politics and whether the superstar had any influence on this presidential election decision.
Jennifer Lawrence says celebrities don’t influence how people vote. Is it true?
The Oscar-winning “Hunger Games” star, 35, recently told The New York Times’ podcast “The Interview” that she’s unsure whether to continue speaking out about politics after being a longtime critic of President Donald Trump and supporting Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the past two presidential elections.
“We’ve been through election after election. Celebrities have no influence on who people vote for,” she said on the Nov. 1 episode. “So what am I doing?”
The comments came a year after Mr. Trump defeated a Democratic candidate for the second time who had a large celebrity following, including Taylor Swift, who loudly endorsed Ms. Harris in 2024.
Jessica Feasel, an associate professor of political science at the University of New Mexico, told USA TODAY that Lawrence is right that celebrity endorsements “rarely determine how people vote.”
“Voter choices are typically driven by stronger, more stable forces such as party identity, socioeconomic status, demographics, and, of course, major political events,” Feasel says.
Megan Duncan, an associate professor in Virginia Tech’s School of Communication, agrees: “It’s unlikely that a celebrity will cause you to change your mind if you went to the polls thinking you were going to vote Republican but end up voting Democratic, or vice versa.”
But that’s not to say celebrity endorsements have no impact.
“Studies show that celebrities draw attention to lesser-known candidates in primaries, especially in primaries,” Duncan said. “Even in large-scale elections where candidates are well-known, celebrity endorsements can attract the attention of audiences who are not interested in politics.
“It’s not about changing political parties,” she added. “It’s about getting people excited and getting people to come vote and register to vote. It’s that enthusiasm that makes the difference.”
One example supporting the idea that celebrities can have influence is Oprah Winfrey’s famous endorsement of Barack Obama in 2007, ahead of the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries.
A 2012 study by Craig Garthwaite of Northwestern University and Timothy J. Moore of the University of Maryland concluded that Winfrey’s widely publicized endorsement of Obama three months after she began her campaign “led to a statistically and qualitatively significant increase in Obama’s vote share.”
But even if an A-list star like Lawrence doesn’t directly influence people’s votes, Feasel said, they can influence voters’ perceptions of a political candidate’s likeability and “the importance of politics more generally,” especially among those who aren’t politically engaged.
For example, when Swift broke her silence on politics in the 2018 Tennessee Senate race by endorsing Democrat Phil Bredesen, who ultimately lost the race, Feasel explains that Swift was sending a signal to her fans that it was cool to pay attention to politics.
“When celebrities talk about politics, people tend to think the political issue is more important,” Feasel said, noting that “celebrity endorsement can be quite powerful for people who are less interested in politics.”
And in 2024, although Swift’s candidate ultimately lost the election, her endorsement of Harris caused a spike in visitors to Vote.gov, a website that directs users to voting information.
Stars can also mobilize their legions of fans to donate to the candidates they support and support fundraising efforts. “So while it may not exactly encourage someone to vote, it may make it easier for that candidate to spend money on advertising,” Duncan said.
In 2024, a Harvard University study concluded, “While some polls claim that people are not influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence shows that these voices are incredibly powerful.”
In the study, the nonprofit organization reported that “when celebrities promote these calls to action, online voter registration and poll worker registration rates are higher,” and noted that stars’ involvement in politics can also help “make voting seem not only relevant but also trendy and socially appealing.”
Prominent Democratic donor George Clooney also supported Harris in the 2024 election after joining the chorus calling for Biden to drop out of the race, but has since questioned whether she made the right choice. President Trump’s supporters, including Caitlyn Jenner, Zachary Levi and Kid Rock, have been vocal throughout his second term.
Lawrence told the Times that while he may not be as vocal about politics in the future, he still wants to express his political views through film. “Many of my films, which come out from my production company, express political situations,” she said. “If I do that, I feel like I might be able to help.”
Mr Duncan encourages Mr Lawrence to remain involved in politics, even if he feels defeated after the 2024 election.
“You can’t dwell on that feeling of defeat and defeat for too long, because politics is something that touches everyone’s daily life,” she says. “However, we believe that democratic participation is the most effective and we must continue to move forward.”
