Did Celeb Endorsements Like Beyoncé & Taylor Swift Hurt Kamala Harris' Campaign?

Was the Kamala Harris campaign hurt by big celebrity endorsements from Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Oprah and others? Because in the end, the star power couldn't keep the presidential hopeful and current VP from losing the 2024 election to former President Donald Trump.

Over the last 24 hours, as the results have filtered in and the electoral college numbers continue to be confirmed, many are wondering just that. After all, several huge celebrities came out in support of Harris — including Madonna, Billie Eilish, Arnold Schwarzenegger and a slew of Avengers movie stars, just to name a few.

But, really, even Bey and Tay couldn't help push it over the edge?

Beyoncé appeared at a rally for Harris last month in Texas, telling the crowd, "Are y'all ready to add your voice to the new American song? Because I am. So let's do this. Ladies and gentlemen, let's give a big, loud Texas welcome to the next president of the United States, Vice President Kamala Harris."

Taylor endorsed Harris in an Instagram post in September, saying, "I'm voting for [her] because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos."

But clearly, the celebrity endorsements weren't enough to give Harris the votes to become the next American president, and now several on social media are discussing why that is.

"Taylor Swifts endorsement was basically meaningless," former The View co-host Meghan McCain contributed to the conversation on X (formerly Twitter), adding, "Let that sink in."

In the same vein, someone else on the platform said, "The fact that four of the greatest women in our country — Michelle Obama, Taylor Swift, Oprah, and Beyonce — could not put Kamala over the top is a message: an awful lot of voters really are threatened by great women."

Responding to McCain, another commenter remarked, "Kamala Harris was endorsed by Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Oprah, Katy Perry & on. Meanwhile, Trump won after getting endorsed by Joe Rogan & Patrick Mahomes' mom."

The person added, "Celebrities should just stop giving endorsements. They don't move the needle. They're essentially worthless."

Amid the social mdia discussion on Wednesday (Nov. 6), The Hollywood Reporter dug into same phenomenon: "For all the Gen Z courtship and endorsements from celebrities with legions of young fans, vote tallies showed that Harris significantly lost ground among 18-to-29 year olds compared to Biden," THR writer James Hibberd reported.

He underscored, "All this seems to support a 2010 North Carolina State University study which showed young voters are not swayed by celebrity endorsements of political candidates, and sometimes even like the candidate less as a result of receiving a celebrity endorsement."

Maybe the reality is that celebrity endorsements in this day and age don't hold the same amount of water that they used to. "Celebrity endorsements don't mean jack shit," someone on X wrote on Wednesday. "Please remember this from now on. Neither Beyonce nor Taylor Swift could save Kamala."

"If celebrity endorsements hold as much weight as people think they do, the fact that [Trump] got Waka Flocka, NFL players […] and Caitlyn Jenner," another echoed. "And Kamala got LeBron, Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Steph and the literal Avengers... I mean..."

What else could have been done to help Harris? People have shared their ideas related to the campaigning as well. That's because, as one commenter offered,"People on the left were panicking while the idiots acting like Kamala was running a flawless campaign because Taylor Swift and Beyonce endorsed her."

Some have even referenced Swift's newfound affinity for the NFL. "Kinda extremely mad taylor went to a football game instead of popping over to PA or even just throw up a specific vote post," one said. "i just specifically don't understand after she said she didn't want to feel like she made the same mistakes in the future she did in 2016 and yet. and YET."

Tags

Donald Trump, Election, Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Politics, Music