Celebrity and Politics: A Losing Battle

Illustration by Jenna Tibby

Musicians and Politics have always been two ingredients that don’t mix. Contrary to what we see in pop culture today, it was only a couple of decades ago when musicians rarely spoke about politics, and if they were questioned about it they stayed pretty neutral. Celebrities were often scared to share a stance on politics due to the possible backlash and alienation of an audience. The Dixie Chicks are an example of this. 

The Dixie Chicks were an all-female band celebrated for their country-pop crossover music. They became the best-selling female band in the United States. They accomplished multiple No. 1s, Grammy Awards, and diamond-selling albums. Despite all these accomplishments, the band is best known for a controversy that derailed their entire careers. 

On March 10, 2003, controversy erupted when the Chicks’ lead vocalist, Natalie Maines, made a statement against the current President George W. Bush during their concert in London. Maines criticized Bush’s decision to go to war with Iraq following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks saying while performing, “Just so you know, we do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” This comment would subsequently be the downfall of their mainstream success. 

The overall consensus in the country after the 9/11 attacks was that everyone had to be pro-America before anything else. Bush’s approval numbers had skyrocketed and any valid critique of the current regime was met with an overwhelming amount of vitriol and pushback. This is why, immediately after Maines's comment, the Dixie Chicks became public enemy number one.

The Dixie Chicks were immediately met with boycotts and outrage from hardcore country fans who came together to burn and destroy their previously purchased records. Despite Maines issuing an apology a couple of days later, their hit country song “Travelin’ Soldier” was pulled and the band was seemingly blackballed from country radio stations throughout the country. The controversy took a far darker turn when Maines received an anonymous death threat. This would lead to high security at Dixie Chicks concerts and years of fear. 

A few years later the tides had officially turned on President Bush, with his approval ratings for his handling of the Iraq War being low. In a 2006 Howard Stern interview with the Dixie Chicks, the host expressed his regret for the way he treated the Band during their scandal, stating, “I was even giving you crap at the time but now I hate this Iraq war.” He continued, “You guys were absolutely right. Iraq is the wrong place to be. The president has completely blown it with this war.”

Despite the country’s tune changing toward the band, the damage had been done, and the Dixie Chicks will always be tied to this scandal. This moment demonstrated to future music superstars that they had to play the game to succeed. Politics, on the other hand, is a separate game, and if musicians want to participate in it, they could face career-defining repercussions. That hasn’t stopped some from trying. 

Taylor Swift is the country's most successful female singer. With a net worth of $1.6 billion, she is the wealthiest musician. She has received numerous awards, including diamond albums, successful tours, 12 No. 1 songs, a smash film, and 14 Grammys. Taylor is more than simply a girl who writes songs and plays guitar; she is a billion-dollar corporation.

Swift and her team's strategy for accomplishing this was to avoid politics. Swift began in the country scene and was a major fan of the Dixie Chicks, so she was aware of what had happened to them and that getting involved in politics might swiftly derail her career before she could even leap into the pop world. This impartial posture would be linked with the singer for the majority of her career, which frequently enraged a portion of the public. This apolitical stance appeared to change in 2020.

It was impossible to be a public figure and remain silent in 2020. It was an election year; the coronavirus had shut down the world; George Floyd had been murdered by a police officer, causing a chain reaction of riots and looting across the country; and women's reproductive rights were being heavily targeted. Silence was no longer an option and this directly targeted Swift’s brand. 

The public was expecting the usual silence from Swift, but what they hadn’t realized is that the singer had already soft-launched her arrival in politics in 2018 when she endorsed former Democratic Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen in the Senate race against Republican candidate Marsha Blackburn. In her documentary film “Miss Americana,” she dove in depth about this decision to endorse Bredesen over Blackburn, stating, “She votes against fair pay for women (and) she votes against the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act which is just basically protecting us from domestic abuse and stalking.” She continued, “I can’t see another commercial and see her disguising these policies behind the words Tennessee Christian values.”

On Oct. 7, 2020, Swift revealed to V Magazine that she would be voting for President Joe Biden, saying, “I will proudly vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election. Under their leadership, I believe America has a chance to start the healing process it so desperately needs.” This didn’t come as too much of a surprise because just a few months before Swift had criticized President Trump on X (formerly known as Twitter) for his response to Americans looting after George Floyd’s murder, saying “After stoking the fires of white supremacy and racism your entire presidency, you have the nerve to feign moral superiority before threatening violence? ‘When the looting starts the shooting starts’??? We will vote you out in September. @realdonaldtrump”  

After her endorsement of President Biden, Vote.org announced that nationwide, there had been 51,308 new registrations in the past day. Unlike the Dixie Chicks, speaking about politics didn’t immediately impact Taylor’s career, mostly due to how much of a force she is in the industry. However, it did set the expectation that Swift would be involved more in politics and endorse whichever democratic candidate was nominated that year. 

After 2020, Swift seemingly went back to avoiding politics, and many predicted that since she hadn’t endorsed President Biden before he dropped out of the race, she wouldn’t be endorsing his vice president and the new Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. This made some question whether Taylor regretted jumping into the slippery slope of politics because an endorsement from her would be expected every four years. If one wasn’t given it, it was some sign that her politics and morals had shifted. 

By September, Swift had yet to endorse Kamala, which had enraged the public. As one user on X stated, “I’ve noticed that Taylor Swift still hasn’t endorsed Kamala. It’s not because she’s rooting for Trump, it’s because she still wants to straddle the fence until the moment it benefits *her*, not when her voice is needed. Sorry Taylor, but that’s white feminism. Put up or shut up” and Daniel D'Addario for Variety wrote, “Given though how much mileage Swift got in the past out of her decision to speak out in politics, the idea that she will remain silent would seem to make her past speaking out, at a more convenient moment, appear cynical. It’d be regrettable if her engagement with the world of politics were just another of her eras, and one from which she were willing to move on.”

On Sept. 10, Taylor Swift officially endorsed Kamala Harris in an Instagram post, stating, “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.” She continued with, “I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate Tim Walz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.” Taylor Swift's post endorsement drove 405,999 users to visit the site vote.gov over the following day. Despite Swift escaping a “Dixie Chicks scandal,” the opportunity for another celebrity to have one was not off the table. 

Musician Chappell Roan, who rose to fame this year for her campy and whimsical drag-queen-inspired style, was found in hot water after an article was published by The Guardian in which she commented about not endorsing Kamala Harris, stating, “I have so many issues with our government in every way…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.” 

At the time this seemed like a reasonable take, but social media felt otherwise, with one user on X stating, “Not endorsing Kamala Harris because ‘There are problems on both sides’ is the lazy coward’s way of saying ‘I have no idea what’s happening and I don’t care to learn.’ If you can’t pick a side now, it’s because you’ve chosen ignorance.” Another post read, “Chappell Roan is an embarrassment to lesbians. You can’t borrow from drag aesthetics and embrace your sexuality and then pretend the party that would criminalize our happiness is the same as the one who protects it.” 

Soon after the controversy, Roan went on TikTok to clarify her comment, stating, “I think it’s important for me to question authority and question world leaders and question myself.” She continued, “This is my third election in voting… and the world is changing so rapidly, and I want to be part of the generation that changes things for good because we need it.

“So hear it from my mouth,” Roan concluded, “if you’re still wondering. No, I’m not voting for Trump, and yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people. And I will stand up for what’s right and what I believe in, and it’s always at the forefront of my project. And I’m sorry that you fell for the clickbait.”

This clarification did not satisfy audiences on X, who wrote many tweets calling out the musician for doubling down on her stance. Chappell Roan wants to have a nuanced discourse about the two-party system and why we, as Americans, should not settle. However, if you couldn't be a mainstream figure in 2003 and not be pro-American, you can’t be one in 2024 and not be blindly liberal. The anger against Roan and her comments is especially mind-boggling because the “both parties are bad” stance isn’t something conservatives are synonymous with, so the assumption that she’s taken the red pill is absurd. 

One of the tweets defending Roan said, “Just watched Chappell Roan reasonably arguing that she would like better candidates, while clearly stating she thinks Harris is the better candidate. This is cult behavior. She’s on your side why demand absolute loyalty.” Chappell continued to double down on her position, which kept the fire going, and days after, she announced she would be taking a mental health break. 

The striking contrast between the reactions to someone like Taylor entering politics and someone like Chappell was intriguing to witness since it demonstrated that, regardless of our culture changing, diving into politics could potentially wreck a career. Taylor was able to avoid much criticism because she struck at the appropriate time, and she is a solidified brand. So basically, Taylor is the family member who will always be around, but Chappell Roan is like your family member's girlfriend whose staying power at family dinner is still undetermined. We like her, but she’s not family yet. 

Although this act of rebellion found her being scolded for weeks it doesn’t seem like Roan’s meteoric rise has been halted. All and all, although it’s unlikely there will ever be a cancellation of the same caliber as the Chicks, it’s safe to assume that the game of politics is still a risky one for celebrities.