‘Shut Up, Nobody Asked You”: Popular Hip-Hop Producer Slams Celebrity Political Endorsements

Pop star Taylor Swift made headlines recently when she endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election.

While it remains to be seen what impact, if any, her statement on the matter will have on Election Day, plenty of critics responded by denouncing the entire concept of celebrity political endorsements.

Anyone who changes their vote based on Taylor Swift, or any celebrity endorsement should get their voting rights revoked.

Once you take 15 minutes to research the issues it’s clear:
👍Trump/Vance is a choice for the Average American.

👎Harris/Walz is a choice for communism.

— Wise Squirrel (@WiseSquirrel_) September 15, 2024

For his part, music producer Pharrell Williams chimed in with a harsh rebuke of fellow stars who wade into the political realm.

According to Fox News:

“There are celebrities that I respect that have an opinion, but not all of them,” he said. “I’m one of them people [who says], ‘What the heck? Shut up. Nobody asked you.’”

“When people get out there and get self-righteous and they roll up their sleeves and s—, and they are out there walking around with a placard: ‘Shut up!’ So, no, I would rather stay out of the way, and obviously, I’m going to vote how I’m going to vote. I care about my people and I care about the country, but I feel there’s a lot of work that needs to be done, and I’m really about the action.”

Of course, many mainstream media figures were quick to laud Swift’s statement in support of Harris:

“the timing on it is absolutely exquisite, the wording of it is flawless… for someone who’s never been impressed by a celebrity endorsement, this is perfect and powerful”pic.twitter.com/40TYKP6MM5

— madi ⸆⸉ 🤍 (@crinklineyes) September 11, 2024

JD Vance, President Donald Trump’s running mate, dismissed the relevance of the endorsement, though:

JD Vance reacts to Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris:

“I don’t think most Americans — whether they like her music, are fans of hers or not — are going to be influenced by a billionaire celebrity, who I think is fundamentally disconnected from the interests and problems… pic.twitter.com/isMSQpgx5K

— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 16, 2024

Some early evidence even suggests Swift’s endorsement turned some undecided voters away from Harris:

Taylor Swifts endorsement turned more people away from Kamala Harris!!! Swifties it’s ok to be conservative and vote for Trump!!

This is your sign celeb endorsements are out common sense is in!! pic.twitter.com/I1MEfjFvWA

— MORGONN (@morgonnm) September 14, 2024

Meanwhile, Trump has attracted some notable celebrity endorsements of his own, particularly within the rap community.

As TheBlaze reported:

In June, Joe Rogan noted that rappers were showing support for Trump after his guilty verdict for falsifying business records.

“So many rappers are showing support for Trump now, it’s crazy,” said Rogan. “Because now, he’s got a felony. I mean, like, now they realize also he’s getting trapped by the system, just like everybody’s been rapping about being trapped by the system, this bulls**t system. And you watch it happen with him.”

This new alignment with a strong Republican politician is a stark contrast to hip-hop’s historically strong ties to the Democratic Party.

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From chart-topping hip-hop music artists to influential voices in the rap genre, these rappers are bucking the status quo.

Here’s some additional coverage of the media’s reaction to Swift’s endorsement: