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Any celebrity's political leanings mean nothing to me. They are strangers to me, just like any other random stranger whose opinion doesn't impact my life in any way. *shrugs*
One common put down I see a lot on this forum is political affiliation. For example how often do we see someone make a comment with 'liberal' meant as an insult thrown in for good measure?
Anyways it made me wonder if forum members let a celebrity's political views and affiliation affect their decision to 'support' them (watch movies they appear in, music they play, etc.).
Personally, it doesn't matter to me. Whatever a celebrity's political view, that has no influence on me. If they act in a movie that is good, I'll watch it. If not, I won't.
It depends. Typically the answer for me is no. If I made the choice to boycott everyone that doesn't generally agree with me politically, well, I'd probably never watch any TV or movies, or listen to any music.
That said, when a celebrity starts becoming known for their political views, and not just their talent, then I may have a problem. Take Liam Neeson for example. Lately he's been pretty outspoken in his support for gun control here in the US. Never mind the fact that his co-star in nearly all his graphically violent movies is a gun. That's the height of hypocrisy if you ask me. I am very much pro-gun and won't bother to watch anything he's in from now on. The same with Tim McGraw, the country singer. He'll be performing a concert in which all the proceeds will be donated to the gun control group "Sandy Hook Prromise" I never really listened to much of his music anyway but now I'll make it a point not to. Then you have the actress Gwyneth Paltrow who makes hair brained comments like when she said she "wished we could give this man [Barack Obama] the power to do whatever he needs to do", essentially shilling for a Dictatorship instead of a Democracy. Something like that doesn't bother me so much, it just proves to me what a colossal idiot she is. Nothing to boycott her over, though.
Personally I don't get why a celebrity would let their political leanings be known to begin with. They want to appeal to as broad an audience as possible don't they? If so, they'd be well advised to keep their mouths shut when it comes to controversial political issues, because as soon as you let your position be known, you've probably alienated a good portion of your audience.
The only thing that bothers me is that some people are influenced by them when they make their views known as if simply being well known confers on them some special knowledge and insight.
Celebrity worship.....shudder.
The proof that this is so is how much companies will pay for celebrity endorsement of their products.
Personally, it doesn't matter to me. Whatever a celebrity's political view, that has no influence on me.., does it matter to you ?
Suburban, Good topic.. I do care about celebrity political views, but not any more or less, than the views of other American citizens. I don't hang on every political utterance than comes out of Hollywood. But I also don't dismiss it as meaningless. Their votes & activism count just as much as everyone else's.
And I would argue that their views do influence you (& me), especially if they are heavy donors to political candidates, and/or writing movies with political messages. Again their opinions aren't anymore valuable than ours, but their purses can be.. peace
A celebrity's opinion has no value to me, because the vast majority of celebrities have just an ounce or two of brain. I think it is best for most celebrities to keep their mouth shut on politics.
But I will admit that if a celebrity chooses to express themselves in a way offensive to me - I may exercise my vote (usually a wallet) decision and choose to not support them. I don't have much tolerance for hypocrites. (Liam Neeson's recent tirade about guns is an example).
However, if we're talking about more than mere disagreement but profound extremism - let's say, an actor was a neo-Nazi, for example - then I would make it a point not to consume the products of that actor.
Beyond politics, I don't really care. I disagree with a lot of political views of, for example, Clint Eastwood, as well as some of his personal behavior. But I like and enjoy many of his films. Then there's Alec Baldwin, with whom I apparently agree politically (based on some of the things I've seen him say) but who strikes me as, to put it mildly, a jerk. I still find him very funny.
A lot of people glom into the beliefs/opinions of someone in the performing arts and convince themselves that the art of that person is excellent. This is, frankly, rather childlike hero-worship. I agree with a lot of positions taken by members of Pearl Jam, but find their music rather boring. On the other hand, I like some of the anthemic songs by Rush in which they spout silly objectivist absurdities.
Now, this is different from being interested in the artist's creative process. But that's about the process, not merely the individual.
It depends. Typically the answer for me is no. If I made the choice to boycott everyone that doesn't generally agree with me politically, well, I'd probably never watch any TV or movies, or listen to any music.
That said, when a celebrity starts becoming known for their political views, and not just their talent, then I may have a problem. Take Liam Neeson for example. Lately he's been pretty outspoken in his support for gun control here in the US. Never mind the fact that his co-star in nearly all his graphically violent movies is a gun. That's the height of hypocrisy if you ask me. I am very much pro-gun and won't bother to watch anything he's in from now on. The same with Tim McGraw, the country singer. He'll be performing a concert in which all the proceeds will be donated to the gun control group "Sandy Hook Prromise" I never really listened to much of his music anyway but now I'll make it a point not to. Then you have the actress Gwyneth Paltrow who makes hair brained comments like when she said she "wished we could give this man [Barack Obama] the power to do whatever he needs to do", essentially shilling for a Dictatorship instead of a Democracy. Something like that doesn't bother me so much, it just proves to me what a colossal idiot she is. Nothing to boycott her over, though.
Personally I don't get why a celebrity would let their political leanings be known to begin with. They want to appeal to as broad an audience as possible don't they? If so, they'd be well advised to keep their mouths shut when it comes to controversial political issues, because as soon as you let your position be known, you've probably alienated a good portion of your audience.
Why shouldn't people speak out about their political beliefs just because of their job? Actors and musicians have as much right to airing their politics as does a plumber, accountant, fast food worker, waiter etc. It's generally conservatives who have to complain when someone doesn't follow 100% of their beliefs. I and other liberals will still watch stuff with Bruce Willis, Clint Eastwood, Drew Carey, Adam Sandler and Parker and Stone since their politics are irrelevant to their ability to entertain. Only one I avoid is Ted Nugent because he's a bigoted psychopath.
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