During an election year, presidential elections can disrupt everyday life. However, when celebrities endorse their preferred candidate, it creates a divide between the political and pop culture worlds.

Starting in the mid-1920s, celebrity political endorsements and appearances at political rallies have become the new norm across all social media channels. Celebrities often donate money to the politician they choose and tell their fans to do the same.

Since the start of the 2024 election campaign season, musical artists such as Kid Rock appeared at the 2024 Republican National Convention where he performed his song “American Bad Ass,” adding a reference to Trump. Kid Rock also hosted a music festival in support of Trump. Similarly, musical artist Megan Thee Stallion performed “Mamushi” and “Body” at Kamala Harris’ Atlanta rally in July.

As artists, influencers, and activists take their stances, the idea of what being a celebrity means enters the cultural conversation. What happens when fans see their favorite musicians endorse a politician?

Some people are glad to see when their favorite artists endorse politicians. SMU student Chloe Almond is a fan of Megan Thee Stallion and was happy to see her endorsement.

“I like her more now,” Almond said. “As someone who is passionate about human rights and fighting injustice, I am happy to see a celebrity endorse the candidate that supports those things.”

Other opinions didn’t change. SMU student Drew Gibson likes Kid Rock as an artist, but his opinion remains the same.

“I had seen Kid Rock appropriate the American flag as part of his performance and
wardrobe, so I was aware that he often made outstate political affiliations,” Gibson said. “Upon seeing Kid Rock endorse Trump, my thoughts were, ‘That makes sense.’”

Taylor Swift is a global figure with fans worldwide, and her influence on her fans evades description. Swift is the youngest artist to win Album of The Year and has won 111 major awards worldwide including 14 Grammys. She has surpassed $4.1 billion in tour revenue from the Eras Tour and gets an average of 58,057,692 daily listens on Spotify.

SMU student Elle Steward pointed out that she thinks “it is possible that celebrities’ images change when they endorse candidates, especially in a highly polarized political climate.”

“Fans and the general public view celebrities through the lens of their personal beliefs and values,” Steward said. “When a celebrity endorses a candidate, it can reveal aspects of their political stance that some supporters might agree with, while others may disagree strongly.”

SMU political science Professor Cal Jillson said celebrity presidential endorsements have changed over time.

In the early 80s and 90s, Americans weren’t as polarized as they are now, he said. Most Americans were clustered as center right or center left, and when celebrities endorsed a candidate, the people who leaned toward the other candidate weren’t outraged.

“In the 90s, celebrities would endorse candidates without much dramatic effect on their personal images. I’m thinking of someone like John Wayne,” Jillson said. “Decades ago, endorsements were noticed, but they didn’t really lead to vilification among the supporters of the other side. Although, people like John Wayne, who had endorsed Republicans, were thought by Democrats to be just a movie star – a lung head who didn’t know what he was talking about. So it certainly didn’t enhance their reputation but you didn’t get the vitriol attached to it that you often do now.”

“In the modern era, with the polarization of an electorate so stark when someone like Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris, not only does the other candidate, Donald Trump, post ‘I hate Taylor Swift,’ but a lot of people on the right that support Trump also say very negative, nasty things about the celebrity,” Jillson said.

“​​Honestly I was never a big fan of Taylor’s to begin with,” Steward said. “She makes great music and is talented, but I found her to be a little cringey. In a political sense, I don’t really care who she’s choosing to vote for unless she brings politics into her songs.”

Like Steward, fans had mixed reactions. Some fans on TikTok posted videos questioning her judgment, saying “90% of her songs are about choosing the wrong person.” Weeks after Swift endorsed Harris, a fan went as far as buying a Taylor Swift guitar at an auction and immediately smashed it on stage with a hammer. The spokesperson for the auction implied that the motivation for destroying the guitar had to do with Swift’s recent endorsement of Kamala Harris. Other fans on X validated Swift’s political judgment.

For celebrities, it comes back to their image.

“Celebrities do care about their image, I mean, their image has been very carefully constructed,” Leo Braudy, a pop culture and fame expert at the University of Southern California said.

Ashley Spillane, the founder and president of Impactual LLC, released a study at Harvard University on the impact of celebrity engagement on civic participation. She found that some people aren’t influenced by celebrities when it comes to politics and that “celebrities encourage voter participation because they believe it is not only good for democracy but also good for their brand positioning.”