Can celebrities (or other famous non-politicians) be effective elected public servants?
What are the benefits and detriments of a celebrity candidate? Will growing populist movements across the globe see more of these types of candidates run?
Do celebrities have a political bias when they act? If so, what is it more often than not? People think politicians, celebrities and public figures who try to "not take sides" in controversial issues are deceptive and untrustworthy. Across 11 experiments (n=4,383), researchers found that not taking sides can harm one's reputation as much or more as disagreeing with your audience. Nobody should care about celebrity political opinions.
What makes famous people more qualified to know about politics than you or I. I hate when poeple think that celebrities they idol just know better because they are celebrities. Do they give some insight about the topic or they just reinstate the opinions you've heard many times before? What did they bring to the table? People should care about writers, journalist, and podcasts hosts who talk about politics. If they are famous for speaking about politics then they cleary know a thing or two. Celebrities should be allowed to, speak opinions of course. But I don't go to Ben Shapiro for musical opinions and I don't go kanye west for his political views. Nobody else should either. Many of our members within society, bestow far too much credence on celebrities. Famous actors and actresses for example, are given ample opportunities at screen time where they can spread their political views. I think this is wholly misguided and perhaps ridiculous.
Their profession is unrelated to politics and does not give them any additional expertise on the subject matter. They are no more qualified to talk about politics on national television than a plumber or a social worker.
They have swathes of blind followers that can be detrimental to our political system. They are idolised and thus treated like "saints". What they do/say can't be wrong in the eyes of many. This is damaging.
I am sure I will think of more arguments as the day goes by. To specify I am not in favour of censoring these people, I whole heartedly believe in freedom of speech. I just think the special treatment these people deserve is ridiculous. So, CMV. Do you think Celebrities should comment on Politics or News?
After reading some outrageous non factual tweets from celebs on topics, . . .
Curious what peoples opinions are on Celebs commenting on topics they may not fully understand. . Eg certain wars or current world affairs
I’m all for freedom of speech
For those who don’t understand this - the difference between “us” in general posting our opinions and celebrities, is they often have large audiences and followers that may be influenced or mislead by an opinion that’s incorrect. Holding political office doesn't necessarily mean you're always up to date and informed on current politics. With the influence politicians hold, they could sway huge groups of people to vote without being educated on the subject. You know when you strip away the fame, celebrities are just private citizens that can form their own opinions. I find it hard to believe that people think celebrities don't deserve an opinion when they can be just as knowledgeable as the next person. No one said you had to listen to their opinions and follow them.
Celebrities obviously get to have just as much of an opinion on anything as anyone, but what you shouldn't do is give their opinion more weight because they're a celebrity, which unfortunately many people do.
I should note that by "celebrity," I am not exclusively referring to someone from film or television, just a person who is famous or widely known but with no or little previous experience with politics. A "celebrity candidate" to me can include anyone from well-known athletes to activists to writers or artists.
Matthew McConaughey has recenelt expressed interest in challenging incumbent Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2022. Early polls have him comparing favorably against Abbott in a hypothetical matchup. While the election is months away and McConaughey has yet to make an decision, he would not be the first famous person to run for elected office.
The news has gotten me thinking about other celebrities and non-political figures who have run for elected office. Here is a list off the top of my head of some famous people who later served in office:
Donald Trump - The most famous and timely, Trump was a reality TV star and businessman before running in 2016.
Ronald Reagan - Reagan was a B-list movie star and President of the Screen Actors Guild before being elected in 1980.
Jesse Ventura - Ventura was professional wrestler who was served as Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota before winning an upset victory in the 1998 Minnesota Governor's race.
Al Franken - Franken was a writer on the popular SNL show during the 1970's and 1980's and a radio host before being elected to the Senate in 2008.
Volodymyr Zelensky - Zelensky was a comedian and comedy writer who was elected as President of Ukraine in 2019.
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilder and actor before being elected as Governor of California during the 2003 recall election. He is the most recent Republican Governor of California.
Burgess Owens - Owens was a 10 season professional football player who was elected to Congress in 2020
Some questions:
What benefits can celebrity candidates bring to elected offices? What detriments?
Will rising populist movements (on both left and right) across the world see more famous non-politicians running for office?
Who do you think is the most effective celebrity politician is? The worst?
Do celebrities have a political bias when they act? If so, what is it more often than not? People think politicians, celebrities and public figures who try to "not take sides" in controversial issues are deceptive and untrustworthy. Across 11 experiments (n=4,383), researchers found that not taking sides can harm one's reputation as much or more as disagreeing with your audience. Nobody should care about celebrity political opinions.
What makes famous people more qualified to know about politics than you or I. I hate when poeple think that celebrities they idol just know better because they are celebrities. Do they give some insight about the topic or they just reinstate the opinions you've heard many times before? What did they bring to the table? People should care about writers, journalist, and podcasts hosts who talk about politics. If they are famous for speaking about politics then they cleary know a thing or two. Celebrities should be allowed to, speak opinions of course. But I don't go to Ben Shapiro for musical opinions and I don't go kanye west for his political views. Nobody else should either. Many of our members within society, bestow far too much credence on celebrities. Famous actors and actresses for example, are given ample opportunities at screen time where they can spread their political views. I think this is wholly misguided and perhaps ridiculous.
Their profession is unrelated to politics and does not give them any additional expertise on the subject matter. They are no more qualified to talk about politics on national television than a plumber or a social worker.
They have swathes of blind followers that can be detrimental to our political system. They are idolised and thus treated like "saints". What they do/say can't be wrong in the eyes of many. This is damaging.
I am sure I will think of more arguments as the day goes by. To specify I am not in favour of censoring these people, I whole heartedly believe in freedom of speech. I just think the special treatment these people deserve is ridiculous. So, CMV. Do you think Celebrities should comment on Politics or News?
After reading some outrageous non factual tweets from celebs on topics, . . .
Curious what peoples opinions are on Celebs commenting on topics they may not fully understand. . Eg certain wars or current world affairs
I’m all for freedom of speech
For those who don’t understand this - the difference between “us” in general posting our opinions and celebrities, is they often have large audiences and followers that may be influenced or mislead by an opinion that’s incorrect. Holding political office doesn't necessarily mean you're always up to date and informed on current politics. With the influence politicians hold, they could sway huge groups of people to vote without being educated on the subject. You know when you strip away the fame, celebrities are just private citizens that can form their own opinions. I find it hard to believe that people think celebrities don't deserve an opinion when they can be just as knowledgeable as the next person. No one said you had to listen to their opinions and follow them.
Celebrities obviously get to have just as much of an opinion on anything as anyone, but what you shouldn't do is give their opinion more weight because they're a celebrity, which unfortunately many people do.
I should note that by "celebrity," I am not exclusively referring to someone from film or television, just a person who is famous or widely known but with no or little previous experience with politics. A "celebrity candidate" to me can include anyone from well-known athletes to activists to writers or artists.
Matthew McConaughey has recenelt expressed interest in challenging incumbent Texas Governor Greg Abbott in 2022. Early polls have him comparing favorably against Abbott in a hypothetical matchup. While the election is months away and McConaughey has yet to make an decision, he would not be the first famous person to run for elected office.
The news has gotten me thinking about other celebrities and non-political figures who have run for elected office. Here is a list off the top of my head of some famous people who later served in office:
Donald Trump - The most famous and timely, Trump was a reality TV star and businessman before running in 2016.
Ronald Reagan - Reagan was a B-list movie star and President of the Screen Actors Guild before being elected in 1980.
Jesse Ventura - Ventura was professional wrestler who was served as Mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota before winning an upset victory in the 1998 Minnesota Governor's race.
Al Franken - Franken was a writer on the popular SNL show during the 1970's and 1980's and a radio host before being elected to the Senate in 2008.
Volodymyr Zelensky - Zelensky was a comedian and comedy writer who was elected as President of Ukraine in 2019.
Arnold Schwarzenegger - Schwarzenegger was a bodybuilder and actor before being elected as Governor of California during the 2003 recall election. He is the most recent Republican Governor of California.
Burgess Owens - Owens was a 10 season professional football player who was elected to Congress in 2020
Some questions:
What benefits can celebrity candidates bring to elected offices? What detriments?
Will rising populist movements (on both left and right) across the world see more famous non-politicians running for office?
Who do you think is the most effective celebrity politician is? The worst?
