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Home / Lifestyle

Polly Gillespie: Why celebrities don't help politics

NZME.
24 Jan, 2017 08:00 PM3 mins to read

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I don't care if Beyonce or Katy Perry like Hilary Clinton. I care if they sing and I care what they wear. Photo / Supplied

I don't care if Beyonce or Katy Perry like Hilary Clinton. I care if they sing and I care what they wear. Photo / Supplied

Opinion by

Celebrities crowd on to a stage to lend their star studded support to someone - anyone - who is not Donald Trump. Oh, the thrill of the furious famous.

Trump is an egg. I mean, I don't care particularly that he is president. I was a Bernie Sanders fan. I thought Hilary Clinton was a poor choice for the Democrats. She was not particularly likeable and for some reason was styled by someone who likes monotone Mao suits. But hey, Trump is an egg. Let's just accept that as a high probability and move on.

I don't believe celebrities help a political cause. I don't care if Beyonce or Katy Perry like Hilary Clinton. I care if they sing and I care what they wear. I care who they are schtupping and I care if they release a new song on Spotify. I don't give a damn what party they vote for or what books they read. I don't consider them experts on anything other than being very rich, very talented and very irrelevant to world affairs. I spoke with an Air New Zealand flight attendant who had Katy Perry on board. When asking her what country she was eventually flying to, she replied: "London."

I don't care what Katy Perry thinks about politics. I don't want to hear from the horse that wins The Melbourne Cup. In fact, I wonder if it's not slightly detrimental to serious politicians to have a bunch of self-important famous entertainers vouch for them.

I argue its possibly one of the many things that lost Hilary Clinton the US election. How does the average 55-year-old white-collar male worker from Indiana relate to Beyonce or Mark Ruffalo? They don't. If I was a politician I would be wanting the support of Nobel winners, top philanthropists, brilliant writers, respected social commentators and Noam Chomsky. I'd take Noam Chomsky and Bill Gates over Katy Perry and Alec Baldwin.

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Do any celebrity endorsements work? It's something to consider. The answer may be yes - if in context. For instance, if Dan Carter tells me I should take a vitamin supplement for good health and increased athletic ability, I'm going to go, "Why yes, Daniel. I will try those super charger vitamins." If Richie Macaw suggest I build a home with someone? Meh, not so much. Does Richie know anything about home building? Okay. That one's up for debate. If Russell Brand, Colin Farrell, Jude Law or Leo DiCaprio told me that Viagra made them want to chase women, I would probably -assuming I'm a man that wants to chase women - down the Viagra. And if Dame Kiri Te Kanawa suggested Volcalzone for my voice I would, no doubt, suck those little nuggets all day long.

Watching celebrities rally against Donald Trump did nothing to convince me anything would happen to his presidency. Yes, we all agree he's a bit of an egg, and Hollywood is in a mood about it. Oh well. If the leaders of industry and Stephen Hawking came out and declared their despair I'd be a little more concerned for Trumps political survival.

In conclusion, here is my list of famous folk perfectly matched to endorsements:

Kim Kardashian: Brazilian butt lifts
Frank the Pope: Catholicism
Justin Bieber: Shampoo and conditioner
Michael Jordan, LeBron James and Steph Curry: Basketball boots
Brendan McCullum: Puma anything
Nicole Kidman: Skin product
Dolly Parton: Support bras
Paul Henry: Charisma enhancer
Gareth Morgan: Financial stock. (Not cat food.)
Keith Richards: Illegal drugs that won't kill me
Hillary Clinton: Monochrome Mao suits

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