Last month podcaster Joe Rogan appeared to endorse Robert Kennedy Jr for the US presidency.
“He’s the only one that makes sense to me,” Rogan told his many listeners. The apparent endorsement lasted about as long as it would take for Joe’s management people to remind the comedian that a healthy majority of his 11 million subscribers are Donald Trump supporters. Rogan dashed off to X to clarify: “For the record, this isn’t an endorsement. This is me saying that I like RFK Jr as a person, and I really appreciate the way he discusses things with civility and intelligence.”
A survey in the US in 2018 revealed that 60 per cent of consumers said they trusted brands less when they were endorsed by celebrities. There are exceptions. Athletes endorsing or co-branding running shoes, or supermodels striding down the catwalk bearing labels from high-end fashion designers can be matches made in commercial heaven. But when it comes to celebrities inexplicably popping their noggins on breakfast cereal boxes or pinning their names to fast food burgers, desultory sales tend to follow.
Celebrity advocacy on the voice referendum in Australia promoted a view that Indigenous affairs had become a plaything of the elites. The use of household names and faces, sometimes singing joyous songs, was a disaster for supporters of the voice and stands as a reminder to all political campaigners that celebrity endorsements are always very bad ideas.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that celebrity endorsements in US politics are seen with deep cynicism by voters.
In the presidential election campaign thus far, endorsements have hit new lows. Actor Jennifer Lawrence has endorsed Kamala Harris on pro-choice grounds.
Fran Drescher, whose industrial relations career has bounced almost in perfect rhythm with the drop in her acting career, put out a TikTok video singing along to the theme of her long ago hit show, The Nanny. Drescher ignored the standard rules of rhyming couplets in jingles by inserting the lyrics, “She’s got brains, she’s got balls and Tim Walz. She’ll soon be President Harris”.
And let’s not forget Taylor Swift, who endorsed Harris after the Vice-President’s debate against Trump, signing off as a “childless cat lady”. Self-proclaimed “Science Guy” Bill Nye is hosting a Geeks and Nerds for Kamala fundraiser this week, with guests Lynda Carter and Mark Hamill. Be still my beating heart.
Then there’s Oprah Winfrey, once the rational voice of America in sensible shoes. In a softball interview, Harris told Ozempic Oprah that if any intruders broke into her house, “they’re going to get shot”. In any political campaign around the Western world, a comment such as this would be seen as scandalous, possibly career-ending, but opinion pieces in the US cheered Kamala on to new heights of gun waffle, not to mention urging her to continue to promote the commission of manslaughter in the event of a break and enter.
Over in Trumpland, Hulk Hogan is the Donald’s go-to endorser. When Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in the state of New York in May, Hogan inadvertently made possibly the funniest comment he may ever utter in his life: “That’s no way to treat a WWE Hall of Famer.”
Meanwhile, at a recent rally in Las Vegas, Trump thanked reggaeton artist Nicky Jam for his endorsement but misgendered the recording star. “Do you know Nicky?” Trump asked the crowd. “She’s hot. Where’s Nicky?” When a heavily tattooed and bearded Nicky did climb up on stage with a MAGA hat on his head, Trump paused only for a moment before recovering his composure. “Oh, look, I’m glad he came up.”
If you think this all sounds like creeping narcissism amid a desperate plea for B-list celebrities to be heard, you’d be right. But there may be another reason to the aversion for celebrity endorsements in this political campaign and that reason is sitting in the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn reportedly on suicide watch.
Last week, Sean “Diddy” Combs was indicted on federal charges that included racketeering, conspiracy and sex trafficking. There are a raft of civil suits accusing Combs of rape and sexual assault. Since his arrest, Combs has been described in the US media as a “disgraced rapper”, which as an oxymoron is up there with violent hit man. If convicted, Combs faces life in prison.
The trouble is the alleged pervert “Diddy” endorsed Harris in her primary run against Joe Biden and supported the Democrat presidential candidate by hosting and participating in a fundraiser more than four years ago. There is a close association between Combs and Barack Obama. The two men, according to the 44th POTUS, used to “hang out”. Combs’s hands and wallet are all over the Democrats.
Likewise, Combs and Trump have been buddies, albeit some time ago. In an episode of The Apprentice, Trump spoke of the billionaire music producer: “I love Diddy. You know, he’s a good friend of mine, he’s a good guy.”
There are photos of Combs with Trump, with Harris, with Obama, with some of the biggest names in politics and the entertainment industry. We haven’t even hit the AI fake images yet.
In the case of Combs, what we are seeing is the inverse of celebrity political endorsement. How far can a politician run away from pasts inexorably linked to a celebrity who has fallen into scandal and disgrace? So silent have Diddy’s previous endorsees become that one wonders if the man ever existed at all. Even celebrities, the smoochers and moochers are working on their alibis.
As usual, politicians are a step behind voters who see celebrities and their endorsements as good reasons to vote the other way. But sometimes those pesky celebs cause more trouble than their endorsements are worth.
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