While you may buy products or services marketed by celebrities, it’s not a great idea to follow their political advice because the average American does not have the same financial concerns as a mega-rich celebrity.
Celebrities are able to reach massive audiences because of commonly used social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.
Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande are two of the most followed people on social media.
Bieber has the second most followers on Twitter with 112.6 million and Grande has the second most followers on Instagram with 203.39 million, according to an Oct. 1 article by Brandwatch, a digital consumer intelligence company and an Oct. 1 article by Statista, a German company specializing in market and consumer data.
Social media platforms combined with large fan followings are helping celebrities mobilize voters to get them to the polls.
This could have made them more influential than many cable news networks and political podcasts when it came to swaying voters this election season.
With such a historic election, many celebrities used their social media platforms this year to encourage people to vote. While this can be effective in mobilizing voter turnout, some went further by pushing their personal political ideologies onto their followers.
On Oct. 29, Lil Wayne posted a picture with President Donald Trump on Twitter and showed his support for Trump by endorsing the Platinum Plan, the Trump administration’s economic proposal to increase wealth in Black communities.
Conversely, rapper Cardi B, who originally supported Democrat and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, said “I think we should just go with Joe Biden,” according to an Aug. 7 iHeart Radio article.
Celebrities engaging in politics can help drive voter turnout, but they can also influence some voters to cast their ballots the same way they would.
According to a Nov. 3, 2017 USA Today article, following what celebrities say comes down to familiarity.
When we see a face multiple times, like on TV screens, on a movie poster or on the cover of a magazine at a grocery store checkout, it makes us feel like we know them. We start to trust the faces of celebrities we don’t even know.
So when they tell us to do something like purchase Coca Cola, drive a Range Rover or vote for their favorite politician, we feel inclined to buy into their endorsements.
But what celebrities promote isn’t always in the public’s best interest. One of the big differences between an average voter and a celebrity is the huge wealth gap.
According to an April 26 article on Celebritynetworth.com, Oprah Winfrey has a net worth of $3.5 billion and Kanye West has a net worth of $3.2 billion.
This is atrocious when you consider that the 2019 median household income in the U.S. was $68,703, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
So while we may feel like we personally know celebrities by relating to Chrissy Teigen treating herself to a giant hamburger, influencers and their fans don’t have the same lifestyles which impacts what views and struggles we carry into politics.
This is evident when we look at the discrepancies between how celebrities view the two presidential candidates’ tax plans.
Trump and Biden’s drastically different tax plans have affected how some people vote.
Biden’s tax policies focus on raising the top income tax rate for anyone making more than $400,000 a year according to his campaign website. On the other hand, Trump’s proposal would cut taxes by an additional $300 billion by the end of his second term if he won reelection, primarily benefiting corporations and the uber wealthy according to an updated resolution regarding the Republican party platform.
Celebrities such as 50 Cent have endorsed Trump on their social media accounts because they don’t want to pay higher taxes.
According to a Sunday Politifact.com article, 50 Cent said he didn’t want to become “20 Cent” after learning that Biden’s tax plan would implement much higher taxes on wealthy individuals.
However, while 50 Cent’s taxes would rise if Biden were elected president, the majority of Americans would see no change or even a slight reduction in taxes, according to the article.
This shows that what works for the country’s wealthiest individuals doesn’t always apply to the majority of Americans, especially when it comes to financial matters.
According to a Feb. 28, 2018 Business Insider article, $1 to the average person is the same as $1,355 to a billionaire.
So while many Americans may like to believe that celebrities are our friends because of their social media relatability, the truth is, the wealth gap makes their political advice irrelevant to most voters.
Olivia Bowman contributed reporting.
