Tim Wilson
Auckland, November 13, 2024
Undoubtedly the biggest star in music today, Taylor Swift consistently sells out arenas, dominates the charts, and inspires a generation of young acolytes called “Swifties.” The latter are particularly loyal or is that tribal? I write as a parent reporting from the local school disco. When Ms Swift’s music plays, they dance; another artist’s beats drop and the dancefloor is evacuated.
Given this cachet, when Taylor Swift endorsed Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris in September, headlines ensued. For example: “How Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris could change the election end game.” Supportive polls were duly brandished.
Polls are Indicative
Of course, we have since been comprehensively reminded that polls are merely vague omens, not irrefutable truths.
Now, “Tay-Tay,” as she is known, was not the first celebrity to weigh in. Months before, Actor George Clooney wrote an Op-Ed for the New York Times saying that Joe Biden should go. Mr Biden did. Cue: a new candidate and a glittering mist of stars collecting around the Vice President, including Julia Roberts and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
So when Kamala Harris lost so comprehensively, the rout was not hers alone. Taylor Swift sacrifices some mana, but more on that later. Hollywood also stumbled (along with the belief that celebrities can sway elections), plus a few business models.
Movie stars in some sense are products of the legacy media pyramid, with movies at the top, television (and to a lesser extent radio) in the middle, and print at the bottom. How telling then that the election’s US TV ratings were terrible, actually disastrous, considering that the plebiscite was pitched as an apocalyptic battle. Neilson reports that TV ratings were down 26% in the 2020 election. In terms of households watching, the number was the lowest since 1960. Yes, 1960.
Such numbers are reflected in the job cuts impending at TVNZ currently free-to-air broadcast TV is losing viewers. Fewer people watch Hollywood movies at the cinema too. Some might say the irony here is that the victor Donald Trump is also a celebrity. And while he’s famed for visceral politicking, colourful (often inaccurate) speech, and thin-skinned narcissism, he knows the landscape is changing and has built his celebrity brand on just that.
Mainstream Media’s Relevance
Consider Mr Trump’s three-hour stint on the Joe Rogan podcast. Exit interviews from polling stations in Arizona suggest the swing of young male voters to Mr Trump was influenced by this appearance. That podcast, by the way, has 47 million listens and climbing; that is almost double the number of households who watched the election on telly in the US.
Some of this supports a US study of celebrity political endorsements from 2010. Young people do not like famous people telling them how to vote. They also think less of the candidate who is being spruiked and the celebrity doing the sell.
Despite Ms Swift’s efforts, Ms Harris won fewer 18-29 year olds than Mr Biden. The celebrity effect in politics and how political messages are disseminated has forever changed. And they are never, ever getting back together.
Tim Wilson is the Executive Director of the Auckland-based Maxim Institute, an independent think tank working to promote the dignity of every person in New Zealand by standing for Freedom, Justice, Compassion and Hope.
