At last year’s Golden Globes telecast, Nikki Glaser spoke the ugly truth.
The awards host called the star-studded crowd famous, talented, and powerful. “I mean, you could really do anything … I mean, except tell the country who to vote for.”
That joke landed for all the right reasons. The 2024 presidential election proved that everyday Americans tune out political advice from their celebrity betters. Even Legacy Media outlets admitted as much, suggesting that star endorsements may have actually hurt Vice President Kamala Harris’s White House dreams.
Somehow, even pop superstar Taylor Swift couldn’t sway Americans to vote for Harris.
Some predicted Hollywood stars would downgrade their political activism moving forward. And, for the first few months after President Donald Trump’s election, and following Glaser’s spot-on joke, the stars mostly kept quiet.
No longer. Celebrities are louder than ever. And so are their “Be Good” activist pins.
Michael Tran / AFP via Getty Images
They’ve weighed in on ICE arrests, the overthrow of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro, and the Epstein Files. Just once or one thousand times.
But why? If their endorsements and social media posts aren’t moving the electoral needle, why bother sharing them in the first place? Aren’t they hurting their own cause?
For one, it’s the ultimate virtue signal in a relentlessly progressive industry. Sharing the “correct” views will never hurt one’s career, even if the average movie or TV fan cringes in response.
That’s hardly the only reason. These missives could actually help their careers at a critical time.
Hollywood jobs have rarely been this insecure. Theatrical attendance is shrinking. Major streaming platforms are struggling to make ends meet. Late-night TV is going the way of the pager and the 8-track tape. Quality films often come and go without so much as denting the pop culture zeitgeist, even with the biggest stars attached.
Last year, a gangster flick with not one but two Robert De Niro performances earned $6 million at the domestic box office.
For stars, spouting off about “Gestapo”-style ICE agents is a way to signal to fellow progressives. I’m like you. I vote like you do. And, if you happen to know of an upcoming gig, please keep me in mind.
Consider it virtual networking. Chances are, it works more often than it doesn’t.
Plus, legacy media outlets love sharing progressive stars and their political missives. The aforementioned Mr. De Niro rages against President Trump early and often, a real dog-bites-man news story.
Yet every time he does so, it inspires a fresh wave of news articles. Most, if not all, publicity is good publicity.
CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images
In the dog-eat-dog world of Tinsel Town, every advantage should be taken to secure future work. It explains why prominent liberal stars like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck just sat down with Joe Rogan for the comic’s rebel podcast. The stars may still be mad about Rogan endorsing Trump at the end of the 2024 presidential election. Or, they could resent Rogan’s subversive take on the COVID shot that their friends and neighbors insisted everyone take … or else.
And yet, they still understand if they want more eyeballs on their new Netflix original film, “The Rip,” they’d better hide those hard feelings and make nice with the former “Fear Factor” host.
Progressive stars still won’t drop by the set of Fox News’ “Gutfeld!” They don’t need to promote their films and TV shows that badly, apparently.
The secret to their political commentary? Supporting the right, or approved, causes. Anything that smacks of an anti-Trump sentiment is held dear to their hearts. The stars stayed silent during the worst woke cancellations. They ignored the rise of sensitivity readers influencing what words can and can’t be shared in fiction.
No anti-Trump or anti-GOP angle to exploit.
Yet when Jimmy Kimmel got suspended for insinuating MAGA Nation killed Charlie Kirk on September 10, 2025, they rose up en masse to protect Kimmel’s “free speech” rights, presuming without evidence that President Trump had benched the far-Left broadcaster.
The lack of a Trumpian angle may explain why the Israeli women who endured brutal sexual assaults, and worse, during the October 7 atrocities didn’t get support from Hollywood’s MeToo activists.
More recently, Hollywood gathered for the latest Golden Globes soiree as Iranian protesters squared off against their tyrannical government. Once again, the Hollywood elite couldn’t spare a syllable to support those risking their lives for freedom.
After all, President Trump had the Iranian people’s back, so it wasn’t worth sticking their neck out to support the cause.
There are always exceptions to the political celebrity rule. Two recent examples spring to mind.
Manny Carabel/Getty Images
Actor Billy Bob Thornton of “Landman” fame told Joe Rogan last November that you won’t find him lecturing fans from any awards show podium.
“I’m very strong in my opinions, but my opinions don’t belong to any political party. I just look at what makes sense, and I think we need a common sense party in this country. That’s actually what I think we need. Just figure it out. It’s pretty easy to figure out what this is all about.”
And Claire Foy went from admonishing President Trump several years ago to declaring politics off limits in her promotional efforts.
“What I believe and who I am and where I stand on things is constantly in flux, as much as it is for everyone else, and I have absolutely no authority to discuss or proclaim about anything other than what I do as an actor.
“If you’re just making noise for the sake of it, then you should probably shut up – so I tend to shut up.”
Actors, by and large, will never shut up. Nor should they. If they actually practiced some consistency with their political activism, they might start changing some hearts and minds after all.
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Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of HollywoodInToto.com. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at HollywoodInToto.com.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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