Okay, who said, “What does an actor know about politics?” Believe it or not, it was Hollywood star and 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. I don’t know in what context Reagan made the remark, but I imagine he was being charmingly self deprecating. His two terms as the Leader of the Free World seem to answer the question. Reagan, as actor turned politician, was the exception.
The Hollywood studio system that made Ronald Reagan a star was a literal factory, pulling actors from obscurity, changing their names, their hair colors, their life stories, making products to please insatiable moviegoing audiences. The stars and their carefully constructed personae were promoted in studio-generated fan magazines and gossip columns. They were lent to the studios’ corporate sponsors to hawk everything from cold cream to cigarettes. The stars were monitored by the studios for their public behavior, their love lives, their politics. It wasn’t until World War II that the stars themselves were able to harness the power of their fame and influence to support the war effort and boost national morale. Some enlisted in the armed forces; some spearheaded and operated the Hollywood Canteen, some went on tour to sell war bonds, trumpeting a message of hope and patriotism. Their contribution was invaluable. Celebrity as a power for good.
Then along came the Red Scare, Joseph McCarthy, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and the communist witch hunt that tore Hollywood apart—by turning the industry against itself. McCarthy exploited the fame and notoriety of big stars in order to make an example of “undesirables,” and pressure the rest into denouncing all suspected Communists in their midst. Ronald Reagan was one of those who named names, by the way. Other stars stood up against the governmental persecution of their colleagues in the industry. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Judy Garland and Danny Kaye organized as The Committee For the First Amendment, and challenged McCarthy’s violation of the rights of those named in the infamous blacklist.
Come the sixties and seventies—the era of protest—it became the thing for young Hollywood stars to go activist, lending their famous faces to various causes, and sometimes taking massive public and political heat for it. Jane Fonda was dubbed “Hanoi Jane;” Vanessa Redgrave, a Pro-Palestinian activist, upon receiving her Oscar for Julia, was burned in effigy outside the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion by the Jewish Defense League. Remember Charlton Heston, championing the Second Amendment by raising a shotgun above his head and bellowing, like Moses, “From my cold dead hand!!” Political stunts on live Oscars broadcasts became a thing; the most notorious being Marlon Brando sending Apache activist Sacheen Littlefeather to accept his Oscar for The Godfather; a protest against the treatment of Native American people. This was met with fury at the time, and it’s become an even more infamous cultural moment since. Following Littlefeather’s recent death, revelations emerged that she may not, in fact, have been Native American.
Fast forward to this spring. George Clooney takes it upon himself to publish an op ed in The New York Times, urging Joe Biden to step down from his re-election bid. A full page in the New York Times taken by an actor, publicly calling out the President of the United States, and urging the Democratic Party to join with him to pressure Biden to step aside. It wasn’t in his capacity as film star that he put out this statement—it was as a major Democratic Party fundraiser and powerbroker; the Clooney razzle-dazzle was a bonus. After Biden’s withdrawal, Clooney went on record again to praise this “selfless act,” gushingly comparing him to George Washington, which smacked a bit of hyperbole, even for an actor.
How about Jason Gordon Levitt, who put out a helpful little video to inform us that Trump wants to give him $70,000 in the form of the tax cuts he’s proposed for the very rich. “Do I need an extra $70,000?,” Levitt says. “Honestly, no. My family and I are doing fine.” Levitt’s net worth is reportedly 35 million so I’d say, yeah, they’re fine. You know what, Jason, why don’t you shut up and go donate the $70,000 you don’t need to someone who does.
Then there’s the viral video depicting megastar Taylor Swift, emotionally declaring her conviction that she be on the right side of history—even if it loses her some fans, she must declare her support for Kamala Harris. This announcement was followed by the posting of a glamorous photo of herself—holding a cat. A political endorsement followed by a snarky meme. The world’s media went batshit over the potential influence Swifties might have on the future of Democracy.
We live in the most narcissistic, attention addicted culture in history, in which everyone fancies themselves influencers, compulsively parading their lives across social media. Worse than that, everyone feels that they must comment on all matters of the day, hurling their half baked vitriol into the scrum with everyone else’s—signaling, of course, their allegiance to the accepted opinions of their particular tribe. But who the fuck really cares?
I just wish today’s exhibitionist Hollywood types would stop with the viral memes in which we get everyone’s version of “crazy cat lady” whether we want it or not; or a bunch of A-listers butchering a lame zoom singalong. Worse than these are the sober statements made into the iPhones of the rich and famous, warning of this or that catastrophe to come if we all don’t do (fill in the blank). Who doesn’t get a little nauseous remembering that series of dramatic videos made by white Hollywood stars during lockdown, letting us all know that they “take responsibility”— some expression of white remorse in the wake of the BLM riots. What do you actually “take responsibility” for, and what are you actually doing about it, except putting on a show, which isn’t a strain for you—isn’t delivering a line to a camera with believable emotion kinda your gig? These performances of virtue do, nevertheless, have impact and influence. All the cool kids vote blue, didn’t you know? The Oprah interview/town hall event with Kamala Harris, with its gigantic screens displaying zoomed in celebrities lending support was like some massive game of Hollywood Squares. “Oh look! It’s…JULIA ROBERTS!” (applause) And hey—isn’t that MERYL STREEP?” (applause, as La Streep waves frantically and blows kisses). I mean…and??
I realize I’m being somewhat cynical, but I’ve been in show business my entire life. I know how fickle the industry is, how nearly impossible it is to break in enough to make a living—never mind become famous and wealthy. Actors are always terrified their luck will run out, that their careers will dry up, and the massively successful ones with the most to lose are desperate to remain relevant and represent the correct views and values, or face cancellation. British actor Laurence Fox was denounced by the entire acting profession in the UK and expelled from the union for a comment he made on Question Time, in which Fox pushed back against a panelist who claimed their country was fundamentally racist. Fox stood up for England, calling it a kind and tolerant nation. For this, Fox was cast into the outer darkness by the profession in which his family has distinguished itself for generations.
As an entertainment professional who has always voted Democrat, I’ve been gratified to watch the parade of megastars bringing their dazzle to Democratic conventions, rallies, and big budget TV extravaganzas. All the best and biggest stars have been on Team Blue for eons. Do you recall Trump’s 2020 Republican Convention, for which the only celebrities they could get were Scott Baio, Antonio Sabato, Jr. (the aging Calvin Klein underwear model) and Bud Light assassin Kid Rock. The left puts on a superior show, and that goes a long way with some. But Trump is himself an undoubted phenomenon, with a massively popular “traveling show” of his own. It’s bizarre to see him embraced as the man of the people, championed by ordinary working Americans, when his life has been one of wealth, decadence and opulence. I often suspect that many big shots on the left attack Trump so vociferously because deep down they know he’s one of them. He was a big TV star and moved in high stakes entertainment circles, he owned a beauty pageant, made cameo appearances in blockbuster movies. He rubbed elbows with Hollywood elites on golf courses, at exclusive resorts and in the hottest nightclubs. He was a guest at Bill and Hillary Clinton’s wedding! Now Hillary believes he’s Hitler?
In an election year like this, is the “big show” what really matters? I appreciate and admire the well produced rollout of the Harris/Walz campaign, which brought a jolt of enthusiasm and energy to our troubled masses. I’m sure it’s really cool to get your own special with Oprah; it feels important and shining and expensive. Harris is poised, polished and, when she wants to be, she’s a forceful and formidable speaker, as demonstrated in her debate with Trump. She nailed it. Great performance. But I want more. I do. I’m not won over by the stars and celebrities cheering and hugging their “Mamala;” then getting on their phones and exposing themselves as self righteous, out of touch, rich pricks on X. We need to decide how we ordinary plebeians are going to make our votes mean something—other than the stopping of the evil would-be dictator from hell, and choosing “the joy!” The big show will eventually end, the circus will leave town, and the country will have to cope with whatever comes. I guarantee you that the elites of Hollywood will not feel a damn thing no matter who is in power.
There’s nothing wrong with a celebrity taking on the role of spokesperson or ambassador for a charity or non-profit, bringing awareness to worthy causes through the power of their fame and visibility. The standard was set by stars like Audrey Hepburn, who went personally, as ambassador for Unicef, into poverty-and-disease-ravaged countries, because she knew that cameras and film crews would follow her, putting the eyes of the world on a desperate situation. Princess Diana went to hospitals and held the hands of afflicted patients, using her massive spotlight to destigmatize people with AIDS. Elizabeth Taylor, one of the most extravagant and wealthy stars of all time, created AMFAR, raising funds to help people living with HIV/AIDS; to this day the proceeds from the sale of her fragrances go directly to her foundation. I love it when celebrities do these things.
In these tense and volatile times, in which a random re-tweet can get you fired or worse; in which people are desperate to distance themselves from those stuck in the crosshairs of the activist mob, it appears celebrities have decided that their work as actors isn’t as important as being an avatar for all the prevailing views championed by the progressive majority dominating the entertainment industry. Political expediency and self-preservation seem to be more important than maintaining artistic integrity and personal discretion.
After the election the Democratic Party (my party) must rethink many of its policies as it ponders its future.
To be entrusted with power again Democrats must start listening to the concerns of the working class for a change. As a lifelong moderate Democrat I share their disdain for many of the insane positions advocated by my party.
Democrat politicians defy biology by believing that men can actually become women and belong in women’s sports, rest rooms, locker rooms and prisons and that children should be mutilated in pursuit of the impossible.
They believe borders should be open to millions of illegals which undermines workers’ wages and the affordability of housing when we can’t house our own citizens.
They discriminate against whites, Asians and men in a vain effort to counter past discrimination against others and undermine our economy by abandoning merit selection of students and employees.
Democratic mayors allow homelessness to destroy our beautiful cities because they won't say no to destructive behavior. No you can’t camp in this city. No you can’t shit in our streets No you can’t shoot up and leave your used needles everywhere. Many of our prosecutors will not take action against shoplifting unless a $1000 of goods are stolen leading to gangs destroying retail stores. They release criminals without bond to rob and murder again.
The average voter knows this is happening and outright reject our party. Enough.
Nicely done article; the question to me is rather, is the actor intelligent and has thought about what they say.
I lived in LA a decade and knew a few actors but none that I felt thought carefully about political environments. Reagan worked in politics long before his presidency, both right and left, with unions as an actor and then governance in California, and while I didn’t agree with him he seemed canny and astute.
What’s left is pure celebrity which is not a basis on which to judge anything except box-office.