After years of high-profile endorsements, campaign appearances, social media posts, and celebrity-packed rallies, a new report suggests some entertainers are reconsidering whether publicly backing political candidates is worth the backlash that can follow.
According to The Hill, the 2024 presidential election appears to have changed the calculation for at least some celebrities.
“I think celebrities are seeing backlash and making a calculated decision that this is just not worth it for them,” longtime Republican strategist Susan Del Percio said.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is one of the prominent names signaling that he would rather stay out of the political fight.
“I’ve learned I’m going to keep my politics to myself,” Johnson said in a recent interview.
He also made clear that his frustration goes beyond concerns about his own career.
“Politics is omnipresent, and it’s forever,” Johnson said. “I don’t like it. I hate it at times. I hate the slinging. I hate all the bulls*** that comes with it.”
Paris Hilton has expressed a similar view, saying politics “is something I feel like celebrities should not be discussing.”
That shift comes after an election in which Vice President Kamala Harris received endorsements and support from a long list of major entertainers. Those endorsements, however, did not translate into an Electoral College victory.
Melvin Williams, an associate professor of communication and media studies at Pace University, described the 2024 campaign as a “turning point in celebrity political engagement.”
“Harris was overshadowed by her celebrity endorsers, and she was deeply criticized by the public for her excessive use of celebrities,” Williams said.
According to Williams, celebrity endorsements may also be running into a broader cultural problem: many voters simply do not want wealthy entertainers telling them how to vote.
“People are tired of celebrities telling them how to think politically and how to vote, especially when private citizens view celebrities as being detached from their daily challenges and their socio-economic realities,” he said.
Jennifer Lawrence, a vocal critic of President Donald Trump, has also questioned what political commentary from celebrities actually accomplishes.
“Election after election, celebrities do not make a difference whatsoever on who people vote for,” Lawrence said.
“So then what am I doing?” she asked.
Lawrence said she worries that publicly airing her political opinions may contribute more to division than persuasion.
“I’m just sharing my opinion on something that’s going to add fuel to a fire that’s ripping the country apart,” she said. “We are so divided.”
Research suggests celebrity endorsements are not entirely meaningless, but their influence may be limited.
Jessica Feezell, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico, said celebrities can sometimes persuade people who are less politically engaged. Even then, she described the overall impact as relatively small because political beliefs tend to come from deeper and more lasting values.
“Entertainers and musicians are most likely to be effective among those people who are new to politics or have low levels of political interest because their views are not crystallized,” Feezell said.
For voters who already have strong political identities, a favorite actor or musician is unlikely to change much.
Democratic strategist Jordan C. Brown put the point more sharply.
“If these celebrities could affect the way people vote, Hillary Clinton would be a two-term president. Kamala Harris would have been the president,” Brown said.
He noted that Harris failed to win any of the battleground states in 2024 despite enjoying widespread celebrity support.
That leaves entertainers facing a fairly simple question: Why risk alienating part of their audience if the political payoff is minimal?
Celebrity endorsements are unlikely to disappear completely. Famous actors, musicians, athletes, and influencers will continue to have political opinions, and some will continue sharing them publicly. But after 2024, more of them may decide that being famous does not necessarily make them persuasive — and that staying out of presidential politics may be better for both their careers and their audiences.
