At the Emmy awards Sunday, the cast of the West Wing slammed politics today as “utterly ridiculous” and encouraged everyone to register to vote. Color me cynical, but these kinds of stunts seem tiresome and hypocritical. I can’t think of anyone more out of touch with reality than a person who makes millions pretending to be someone else on television or in film.

The music industry engages in this too. On Tuesday, Billie Eilish and Finneas endorsed Kamala Harris and told fans to go register to vote. “We are voting for Kamala Harris & Tim Walz because they are fighting for reproductive freedom, our planet & our democracy,” Eilish said in a video announcement. After the first presidential debate, Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris in a carefully crafted social media message, saying her running mate Minn. Gov. Tim Walz had stood up for LGBTQ+ rights and “a woman’s right to her own body.”
 
Donald Trump responded to Swift’s endorsement, saying the singer “will pay a price.” Admittedly, my first thought was, Swift won’t pay much of a price, but the average voter will. Especially if Harris is elected and the Trump tax cuts expire in 2025 as expected.

Celebrity involvement in politics is by no means unusual, but it seems like it has increased over the years. I’ve always found it puzzling. As millionaires and even billionaires, it’s hard to say how any policies truly adversely affect them. If you’re a billionaire, what’s a bit more in taxes? With their fame and leverage, it’s hard to see how what a state or federal elected politician says or does changes much for them.

People like Taylor Swift present an interesting juxtaposition: They posit they’re just like us. They’re human beings, sure, but they’re not living in the average American’s reality. The average American’s salary annually is about $64,000. Swift grossed $2 billion last year with her music and tour. Income is just one difference, but it’s significant. Swift owns at least eight homes; the average American is struggling to own just one.

Here’s another thing I've always found strange: Hollywood celebrities have opinions on politics or the president or a specific issue, but they’re overwhelmingly in favor of Democrats and support leftist positions on hot-button topics like gun violence or abortion. You’d think at their high tax bracket, they’d want to keep as much money as possible and favor a Republican. Cardi B might be one of the few to ever publicly delve into that discussion. But this isn’t the case with celebrities. They’re either making so much it doesn’t matter, or they agree so much with liberal politicians and their ideas, they don’t care if it hurts their bottom line.

It’s fine for a celebrity to tell someone to register to vote; it’s their right too. But let’s not pretend when a Hollywood star tells someone to register to vote they’re hoping you register and vote for the local, state or federal Republican. In fact, if by some phenomenon, their endorsements galvanized Republicans, they would refrain from doing them. So their endorsements and their calls for people to register to vote ring a bit hollow.

Swift and others are not unaware of their platforms and power: They’re hoping people vote for Democrats. That’s why they’re doing it. Whether they succeed or not remains to be seen.

It’s not entirely celebrities’ fault that they do this. They feed off the fame and fortune, but we’re the ones that hand them the utensils. Celebrity platforms are massive --- even top-tier influencers on social media are starting to wield their own slice of persuasion too. But they wouldn’t have such influence if we didn’t pay to watch or absorb celebrity gossip. This is especially true of younger generations, who seem more susceptible and naive.

It’s probably normal to be fascinated by the beautiful, famous and wealthy, but I’m not sure we should actually listen to their life-advice on something as important as politics without at least taking a look at our own priorities. Do Democrats represent your views or do Republicans? This is what really matters. Everything else is just show.