Brat Fail: Celebrity Endorsements Couldn’t Save Kamala From Red Wave

Kamala Harris failed to win the presidency despite the overwhelming support from some of the biggest names in the entertainment industry. Many of these A-list celebrities actively campaigned for the Democratic candidate, but even with their endorsements and pleas to millions of fans, it wasn’t enough to stop Donald Trump’s red wave.

In July, the musical artist Charli xcx posted on X, “kamala IS brat.” The Harris campaign latched onto this messaging, putting it into campaign materials aimed at a younger generation that interpreted the word “brat” as “someone who is confidently rebellious, unapologetically bold, and playfully defiant.”

Many celebrity endorsements didn’t help Harris because, as one writer noted, most of these famous people were preaching to an audience of Democrats who already agreed with them.

“Oprah, Katy Perry, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Ariana Grande – these are artists whose audiences (black, female, liberal, queer) were already inclined to vote for Kamala,” Seth Abramovitch from The Hollywood Reporter told The Guardian. 

He mentioned that Taylor Swift, who endorsed Harris following her only debate with Trump, had a broader appeal than some other artists, but her audience generally lacks the diversity required to have made more of an impact. 

“I’d argue [Swift’s] massive influence does not reach two key demographic groups that helped Trump win this time – Latinos and black men,” Abramovitch said.

The data suggests that celebrity endorsements are overhyped. A poll from YouGov, which was conducted after Swift’s endorsement, revealed that 8% of voters would be “somewhat” or “much more” likely to vote for Harris in light of that information. Notably, 22% responded that the pop star’s endorsement made them less likely to vote for her.

That same poll found that almost half (45%) of respondents preferred Swift “not speak publicly about politics.” The vast majority (64%) said Swift’s endorsement would make “no difference” in how they voted.

Harris rallies touted major celebrities, though their reception wasn’t always positive. For example, Beyoncé fans were massively disappointed when the singer only made a brief appearance at a Houston rally in late October, hoping instead for a musical performance. 

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The 32-time Grammy Award winner delivered a speech, saying, “I’m here as a mother, a mother who cares about the world our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we are not divided, our past or present or future.”

Cardi B also spoke at one of Kamala’s final rallies before Election Day, but it didn’t go so well. A teleprompter malfunction meant that the rapper was left to speak off the cuff, which she was unable to do. Cardi stood awkwardly at the podium for more than a minute until someone brought her a phone containing the text she was supposed to read.

“So you know, when it comes to this s***  right here, I let you know what I’ve been wanting to say, but I had to make sure I ain’t forget, so I wrote that s*** the f*** down!” she said in a social media video later, explaining the situation.

Former Obama administration advisor Van Jones on Monday said he didn’t like big-time celebrity endorsements, going so far as to say they could hurt the candidate’s chance of winning. 

“I don’t think people understand, working people sometimes have to choose,” Jones said during an appearance on CNN. “’Am I going to go to the big, cool concert and pay for babysitting for that or am I going to figure out a way to get to the polls?’ I don‘t like these big star-studded events.”

“I don’t want people going to concerts,” he went on. “I want people out there knocking on doors, I want people out there fighting for this thing. I’m just nervous, nervous, nervous.”

Other celebrities who publicly endorsed Harris for president include Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Kerry Washington, Reese Witherspoon, John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Jennifer Aniston, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, America Ferrera, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sarah Silverman, Shonda Rhimes, Jennifer Lopez, Debra Messing, Patton Oswalt, LeBron James, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Zendaya, Lizzo, Mariah Carey, Billie Eilish, Stevie Wonder, Snoop Dogg, Bruce Springsteen, DJ Khaled, John Mayer, Samuel L. Jackson, Natalie Portman, Mark Ruffalo, Don Cheadle, Alyssa Milano, Eva Longoria, Jane Fonda, Scarlett Johansson, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts.

All that star power meant nothing when it came time for the American people to select the next president. Trump delivered a decisive victory, winning all seven swing states and capturing the popular vote — a first for any Republican candidate since 2004.