Yoni Bleier
Staff Writer
There are two things that people like to talk about the most: Celebrities and politics. Now what happens when you mix them both? Politics has been an infamous cause of fighting as well as a reason for broken friendships, and even marriages. Celebrities have been a source of fascination and conversation ever since people learned to talk, and social media has given them a ginormous platform to take part in that conversation. We’re all familiar with the phrase “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility” first written by Voltaire, a French author but memorialized by the Spider-Man comics. This quote is important to remember when discussing this topic because we have to realize that celebrities have as much a right to discuss politics as any human being, but where is the line drawn between freedom of speech and manipulation, bias, propaganda, and even hate?
It is important to note why someone is a celebrity. If they are celebrities because they have famous songs, then why should we take their opinions over someone who might only know 1,000 people, but has a major in political science? If someone is a celebrity because they have a famous political podcast, then it is fair to say that they probably know more than a singer or dancer who dropped out of high school to pursue their career. This doesn’t mean we should blindly accept what one says over another, but we should realize why we like them, and why we follow them on Instagram.
I believe that celebrities need to refrain from making political statements on major platforms because whether they like it or not they have huge responsibility and an enormous effect on people. I understand that people need to speak up for what they believe in, but I also believe that some sacrifices have to be made based on what career you choose, and if it’s a free-for-all, then all global social media platforms become a battlefield. There is no way to ensure that a celebrity is a good or bad person, and unlike your average Instagram or an X (Twitter) account, their posts have much more sway. I also feel that celebrities will understandably continue to share their opinions because that’s just the way it is, but remember: Just because someone’s face is perfectly symmetrical, or because someone has an extremely successful makeup line, it does not make their opinion more important than your or anyone else's!