If your social media feeds are anything like mine, you’ve seen at least a few, maybe even more, posts calling for celebrities, actors, singers, models, or anyone to speak out about the events happening in our country, and there’s a good reason for that.
The political climate we live in can be terrifying, and it’s natural for us to want to know that there are people we revere who are thinking the same things we are, but in all the hustle and bustle, we seem to have forgotten one very simple fact: That isn’t their job.
It’s incredibly comforting to see celebrities like Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter fighting for the same things we are, but I need to be explicitly clear here; they’re doing this beyond what their jobs call for and are at personal risk to themselves. They aren’t activists, politicians, or policy makers, and we can’t ask them to be.
Another point, these calls are coming under the presumption that having these celebrities speak out can change things, but to this argument, I say: What is it that they could change? Even if their opinions could sway the opinions of everyday people, activists also have to put in the work for anything to change.
A poll by the Hollywood Reporter shows that 47% of U.S. adults don’t believe that celebrities speaking out are capable of changing minds, and 56% don’t feel that celebrity beliefs matter to their own political stances.
As a matter of fact, in a different poll also by the Hollywood Reporter, 25% of people believed that celebrities shouldn’t express their political views to the public at all. So, knowing this, why do we still believe that a single celebrity speaking out is going to change anything?
Again, it’s not wrong to ask celebrities to speak out for what they believe, but it’s wrong of us to push them (at their own risk) to do something that’ll truly only have a minimal impact, especially when it isn’t their job or responsibility.
Celebrities aren’t here to save us; that responsibility is up to the people. It’s our responsibility to decide what to believe, what to think, and how to feel, and then to act on those beliefs.
Things need to change, but having a celebrity or two speak out won’t do it. If we’re going to change anything, we need to be willing to put in the work ourselves.
Protesting, going out to vote, changing people’s minds ourselves, and doing the boots-on-the-ground work is how things will start to change. We can’t simply sit and beg celebrities to do the work for us and try to change people themselves.
Protests, including ICE Out and No Kings, are currently taking place all over the country. Organizations like Indivisible and Women’s March host protests across the country, with information available on their websites about protests near you.
Other sites, such as Find a Protest, provide information on protests both locally and globally. You can also call your state senator and push for their votes for more protective legislation. Resources like these help to make people the promoters, not celebrities.
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