When we turn on the news, we expect to see discourse from politicians and elected officials about new government decisions and issues.
But with such a politically active climate in the U.S, debate as to whether this should extend to entertainers and public figures has grown. This September, Ed Sheeran was at the center of a public controversy for his “apolitical” stance. Macklemore, Sheeran’s opener for the Loop Tour, was dropped by the tour’s promoters after he made comments supporting Palestine.
After Sheeran failed to speak out, his other openers sided with Macklemore and withdrew from the tour.
Entertainers should encourage political awareness, even if it is through brief or humorous commentary, and provide resources on their social media platforms so fans can learn about important issues.
Over time, entertainers have become more inclined to speak out on politics.
Jimmy Fallon is a great example of using humor to educate his audience on current events. On Oct. 19, Fallon gave his Monday night monologue, with the first segment focusing on Katie Zacharia being fired from her brief position as White House press secretary.
“Well guys, the midterm elections are just 15 days away,” Fallon said. “Yeah, that’s not a lot of time. That’s only three White House press secretaries from now.”
Fallon’s ability to poke fun at current political issues makes difficult topics more accessible to the public. He doesn’t aim to go into full political commentary, but rather focuses on keeping things light-hearted.
UMTV’s Off the Wire comedy show Executive Producer Mack Keegan talks about similar moments in the show where politics got involved.
“This semester, my goal was to kind of push the line a little bit with political stuff,” Keegan said. “We used to kind of stay away from it, just because you don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings while making someone else laugh.”
He compares traditional news stations to comedy shows, highlighting how often comedy might be more impactful to viewers when referencing politics. In one episode, Off the Wire aired a sketch portraying Senator Mitch McConnell as a guest star on Dancing with the Stars.
“The news might throw a bunch of jargon and stats at you and it seems overwhelming,” Keegan said. “Then they tell you ‘fear this group of people’ at the very end of it. But with comedy, you kind of have the luxury of an explanation. It goes deeper into it.”
Entertainers speaking on political and current events is especially important when considering the intensity of recent news, as public figures have the potential to engage even the people who try to avoid the polarized headlines they see on the news.
When we are presented with hard facts and complicated issues, our brains may be inclined to shut off and switch over to something simpler. With this in mind, sometimes humor and poking fun at society is a valuable way to make people see the bigger picture in ways traditional news cannot. It puts content in people’s laps that is more digestible and enjoyable to consume, while also encouraging audiences to further research important news and political topics.
“I enjoy watching them and hearing about the issues that are current,” political science student Isabelle Gonzalez said. “I feel like it’s not that different from what you hear on news stations in terms of biases.”
Celebrities and entertainers do not need to be as outspoken as a politician, but they should be open to general commentary and encourage fans to seek more information on a topic. Providing resources, whether biased or not to the entertainers beliefs, should be something more people in the media shift towards doing.
On the contrary, not every entertainer needs to be political to make an impact, and nobody portrayed this better than singer Dolly Parton.
Even after being offered the medal of freedom twice by the Trump administration, and once by the Biden administration, Parton remained true to her stance, “I am not political, and I refuse to get caught up in political things.”
Despite saying she was not political, Parton remained unafraid to speak out for movements and people she believed in supporting, including the Black Lives Matter movement and the LGBTQ+ community.
Although the new rise against neutrality in politics can be difficult for entertainers to navigate, it’s contributing to a bigger political conversation, forcing political discourse to extend beyond solely politicians and news stations.
As our political climate continues to change and grow, it is important that our society’s most influential leaders grow with it by speaking out and encouraging discussion.