A Harvard University study examining the influence of stars such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, Trevor Noah and Kerry Washington found that celebrities can impact American elections and strengthen democracy without hurting their own brand.
“While some polling shows that people claim they aren’t influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful,” according to the recently published 52-page report from Harvard’s Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.
“This potential impact is why nonprofits, candidates, and elected officials are increasingly seeking ways to engage celebrities,” the study said.
Researchers worked with 15 managers, publicists, nonprofit partners and famous people to learn about their experiences “with activations aimed at promoting civic participation” among influential pop culture figures.
Effective celebrity involvement appears to take on many forms in the democratic process.
“They can serve as surrogates for political candidates, helping to ‘rally the base’ or reach new audiences,” the study said. “Additionally, there is evidence that celebrities can help with candidate fundraising, attracting large crowds to political events or volunteer shifts, which drawspress attention.”
When pop superstar Taylor Swift promoted Vote.org in 2018, researchers said 250,000 people — many of whom were believed to have been Swifties — registered to vote within 72 hours.
While Swift hasn’t expressly endorsed a candidate in the 2024 election, she supported the Democratic duo of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020. Her popularity has only grown as she winds down the highest-grossing concert tour in history, during which some believe she subtly endorsed Harris on a recent stop in Poland.
Bandleading drummer Questlove’s longtime manager Dawn White told researchers that when a celebrity attaches their name to a political movement or figure it establishes “a connection based on values, which humanizes an artist and a celebrity in a way that the audience then feels like they know you.”
That can in turn motivate an audience to support an artist’s new projects, White said.
Despite often railing against celebrity culture, the Republican Party officially nominated former reality TV star Donald Trump as its presidential candidate. The party’s convention in Milwaukee last month featured rapper Kid Rock, wrestler Hulk Hogan and country singer Lee Greenwood.
Professional entertainer and wrestler Hulk Hogan rips his shirt as he speaks on stage on the fourth day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 18, 2024 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
The Democrats host their convention next week, and while the list of celebrity attendees is still up in the air, Harris has already gotten support from musicians including Beyoncé, Megan the Stallion and Charli XCX.
“Voting should be the trendy, cool thing to do,” Ashley Spillane, the author of the Harvard study, told ABC News. “There is evidence that when people feel this way about voting, they participate.”
