By Reshelle Bihasa, Staff Writer 

Fame does not qualify someone to impose their political stances on the public. 

In today’s society, many people blindly follow their favorite celebrities’ opinions without forming their own views. No disrespect to celebrities, but many public figures are not qualified or educated to share their political views, especially considering their influence. 

Celebrities should stick to what they do best: entertainment. After all, they are famous for a reason. Some of them did not graduate high school or obtain the education needed to make strong statements to the public. Our country is divided enough and these comments lead to further division. For example, Kanye West’s strong antisemitic opinions caused a huge uproar from fans and many still choose not to listen to him because of these views. 

 Additionally, many people use forms of entertainment such as music and movies as an escape from the stress of current issues. When celebrities mix politics into entertainment, these complex political issues can be oversimplified and favor emotional appeal over facts. One recent example of this is when Billie Eilish said, “No one is illegal on stolen land” after winning her Grammy for Song of the Year. This created more controversy and polarization as people strongly criticized her while other fans defended her. 

Many celebrities present themselves as relatable to the general public but live in ways that are significantly disconnected from the reality of most people. Some public figures were born rich and privileged yet act as if they struggled like others have. Several celebrities try to act and seem relatable with their lifestyle, then fly on their private jets to go home to their million-dollar mansion where their private chef serves them dinner. Of course, there are also genuine celebrities who worked their way up to success through hard work, including Ed Sheeran and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  

There are some famous people who become involved politically to improve their image and grow their fanbase. Taking a political stance appears performative without real meaning in hopes to appeal to the celebrities’ fans. James Franco displayed “performative activism” at the 2018 Golden Globes when he wore a “Time’s Up” pin, standing for solidarity against sexual harassment.

This is hypocritical of Franco because he has faced accusations of inappropriate sexual behavior from many women including other famous celebrities. According to IMDb, Scarlet Johansson publicly criticized him saying, “how could a person publicly stand by an organization that helps to provide support for victims of sexual assault while preying on people who have no power?” 

Not every famous person or influencer should have the authority to share their political views, especially when it is not their responsibility. Many public figures and news sources are not credible sources to form an opinion from. Instead, people should be encouraged to educate themselves from reliable sources and qualified political experts. 

So, celebrities should stick to entertainment and leave it to politicians and qualified leaders to give their political opinion.