CELEBRITY CULTURE

"2016: The Celebrity Election"

This is not the first time there is an election with celebrities running, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger served as Governor of California, and 40th president, Ronald Reagan, was an actor prior to running for presidency.

This year, most celebrity endorsements were for Hillary Clinton, with people such as Jay Z, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Bruce Springsteen, Bono, and many others promoting her and having performances for her campaign. On the other hand, Donald Trump had barely any celebrity endorsements. The fact that Trump won even without any celebrity support, is something political scientists are studying now.

COULD CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS PROVE TO BE DETRIMENTAL TO A CAMPAIGN?

MEET THE CELEBRITIES

Ex first lady

Married to Bill Clinton

Past Secretary of State

New York first female senator

Second time running for president

Involved in deleted emails scandal

Tv host of "The Apprentice"

famous billionaire

Tv producer

Trump Towers' owner

Past owner of "Miss Universe"

Twitter famous

Involved in sexist scandals

Kendall Jenner

Anna Wintour

Kendall Jenner

1/5

In the past elections of 2016, fashion icons such as models and designers, were quick to pick sides and give their opinion. Prominent fashion designer, Marc Jacobs created a t-shirt line to endorse Clinton , the line became part of the official merchandise line for the campaign. Many fashion influencers, such as Vogue Magazine's editor in chief, Anna Wintour, and top model, Kendall Jenner, were seen wearing the shirts to support Clinton. This is not the first time the designer has made a clothing line to support one of Clinton's campaigns, he also designed t-shirts when she ran for New York senator.

In addition to Jacobs, designers Tory Burch and Maxwell Osborne have also created shirts to support Clinton. Burch's line featured "Women's rights are humans rights' shirts and were part of the "Made for History" collection.

Other designers expressed interest in dressing Clinton, some of them include Karl Lagerfeld, Victoria Beckham and Ralph Lauren.

"My support for Hillary is grounded on our long-standing shared belief in equality"- Marc Jacobs

FASHION CELEBRITIES

TELEVISION CELEBRITIES

Many television show hosts took the topic of the American election for their introductory monologues, hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Seth Meyers and Stephen Colbert would recount and make fun of the most recent political circumstance, thus making the elections widely discussed amongst viewers and the press.

The Saturday Night Live show was one of the most prominent shows during the campaigns. The show would recreate events such as the debates and different scandals, gaining the shows highest ratings since 2008. Actors Alec Baldwin and Kate McKinnon would impersonate Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton respectively.

Donald Trump commented multiple times saying he was unimpressed with Baldwin's performance.

CELEBRITY ACTIVISM

Prior to the 2016 American presidential elections, dozens of celebrities participated in the creation of videos encouraging people to get out and vote, although the celebrities remained neutral about who people should vote for, many clues lead to believe they were mostly anti-Trump.

PROTESTORS

Many celebrities protested the results of the election on the day of the inauguration at an event organized by Mark Ruffalo. Some of the attendees include:

Alec Baldwin
Cher
Robert De Niro
Lady Gaga
Michael Moore
Cynthia Nixon
Julianne Moore
Marisa Tomei

Notably, actor Shia Labeouf started an artsy live stream protest in which people were meant to chant "He will not divide us" during the four years that Trump will be in office. Actor, Jaden Smith, participated in the stream which was cancelled due to violence.

Refrences:

Anyanwu, Obi. "The fashion industry and the 2016 US Presidential Election." Fashion Network. N.p., 06 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Bandler, Aaron. "Which Celebrities Showed Up To Protest Trump?" Daily Wire. N.p., 20 Jan. 2017. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.
I’m a fish. “'hewillnotdivide.us meets /pol/ - Highlights, Day 1”.Online Video Clip. Youtube. 20 January 2017. Web. 2 March 2017.
Images, Cheriss May/NurPhoto via Getty. "All the Designers Who Have Spoken Out About Dressing Melania Trump." The Cut. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2017.
Kornhaber, Spencer. "Popular Culture's Failed Presidential Campaign." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 13 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Michelle Allen. “'Grab That P*ssy' Alec Baldwin ROASTS Donald Trump On SNL”.Online Video Clip. Youtube. 9 October 2016. Web. 2 March 2017.
Saturday Night Live. “Hillary Clinton Election Video Cold Open - SNL”.Online Video Clip. Youtube. 12 April 2015. Web. 2 March 2017.
Save The Day.Vote. "IMPORTANT". Online Video Clip. Youtube. 16 September 2016. Web. 2 March 2017.
Schrodt, Paul. "How celebrities are protesting the inauguration of President Trump." Business Insider. Business Insider, 21 Jan. 2017. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
"SNL breaks fourth wall in final Trump and Clinton skit." ABC News. N.p., 06 Nov. 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017.
Walsh, Kenneth T. "President Casting Call." The Report. U.S. News, 29 July 2016. Web. 20 Feb. 2017

The American presidential election of 2016 could be described as the biggest celebrity election in history almost undoubtedly. Not only did celebrities participate in the campaigns more than ever, but both of the candidates were big celebrities even before declaring that they would be running for the 2016 presidential candidacy.

Many celebrities were outspoken about their opinion on the elections before and after it, some just encouraged people to get out and vote.