Celebrity Endorsements: High Risk, Little Reward?

With election day just one week away, we’re entering the final stretch of what has been a turbulent and, in many ways, remarkable presidential race. We’ve seen the sitting president step aside, two assassination attempts and a criminal conviction in what both sides of the political spectrum are making out to be a presidential race that will determine the fate of American democracy.

Given the perceived gravity of the election outcome and the degree of polarization of the American public, it’s no surprise that countless celebrities, be it singers, actors, athletes or billionaire businessmen, have weighed in on the race, endorsing either of the two candidates and calling on their fans to do the same. And while some of these public figures have tens, sometimes hundreds of millions of followers on social media, it’s unclear how much of an effect celebrity endorsements actually have.

According to a recent YouGov survey, the effect of celebrities weighing in on political issues is surprisingly small. Just 7 percent of respondents said that a celebrity endorsement has ever made them support a candidate and 11 percent said they reconsidered their position on a political issue based on a celebrity’s opinion before. Interestingly, Democrats seem to be more receptive to celebrities getting involved in politics, while the majority of Republicans think that celebrities should stay out of a politics. Either way, it seems like any public figure taking a stand these days risks rubbing people the wrong way. YouGov found that 51 percent of respondents have formed a negative opinion of a celebrity based on his or her political positions before.