After an interesting change in nominees for this election year, Vice President Kamala Harris took the place of Democratic nominee President Joe Biden who opted not to seek re-election. Voters are preparing for an intense race against former President Donald Trump. Since 2020, 8 million members of Generation Z have become eligible to vote in the new election. With the introduction of so many new young adults into the voting game, the importance of political advocacy among celebrities and other high-profile individuals has become a topic of discussion upon many.
It has become difficult, and even in some situations, impossible, for people in the public eye to claim ignorance about world news when it has become commonplace to have all the information you could possibly need waiting for you in your pocket. Millions of fans rely on parasocial relationships they have with celebrities in order to form a concrete opinion on how they should feel, making it even more important for celebrities and influencers to take a stance. Almost no celebrity is discussed in reference to this phenomenon more than Taylor Swift.
Swift has a strong voice, and it is important that she uses it.
Following the second presidential debate that took place on Sept. 10 between Vice President Harris and former President Trump, Swift posted a picture of herself and her cat to her Instagram, publicly announcing her support for the Harris-Walz campaign for the first time. In the caption, Swift denounced the use of AI generated image of her endorsing Trump’s campaign, stating that it “really conjured up my fears around AI, and the dangers of spreading misinformation.” She went on to say that this incident made it clear to her that she has to be transparent about her views to prevent any more misinformation. Swift announced at the end of the caption that she would be providing a link to register to vote, as well as seemingly poking fun at Senator JD Vance’s infamous “childless cat lady” quote by embracing the title.
According to Forbes, after Swift’s post went live, nearly 406,000 people clicked on the personalized link Swift provided, accounting for more than half of the traffic on the website – 726,523 – between Sept. 10 and 11. It is obvious that Swift publicly aligning herself with a particular candidate is making waves, and this has re-opened the conversation about the potential dangers of having so much social influence as a public figure.
In truth, the 34-year-old singer is no stranger to sharing her views publicly. During the 2020 election, Swift was consistently critical of Trump, stating in a tweet that “we will vote you out in November” and tagging his account. However, while her advocacy in voting is considered a win, many are left with two questions: why did Americans not step up until Swift said something, and, if Swift knows how much of an impact she has, why doesn’t she speak out about other important issues?
Most notably, Swift has not taken a stance on the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict, despite many calls from her fanbase to do so. Others argue that Swift is not a politician, and that her viewpoint is irrelevant to the conversation.
While both sides of this debate offer compelling arguments, I personally believe that, for better or worse, Swift has a strong voice, and it is important that she uses it. While the fact that it took a celebrity reminding her supporters to vote for people to actually do so may be concerning, there is nothing inherently wrong with Swift reminding her supporters to exercise their rights. While she expressed her personal views, she never told her followers who to vote for – only to make their vote count. In a climate where celebrity endorsement is everything, reminding the people who hang onto her every word to contribute in selecting a government that will work for the people will likely only yield positive results.
dlanza1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @taylorswift, Instagram
