Celebrity Influence Isn’t What We Think

In the face of the violent, unconstitutional, anti-democratic injustice we’re seeing play out with ICE (and more), one question is top of mind: Who will speak out, and whose voices can actually change the trajectory of what’s happening? There is a lot of emphasis on getting conservatives to say something, as if they are the only people with the power to draw a line that the Trump administration will respect. But that’s not the only silence that matters right now.

The entertainment industry is loud in January and February. The Grammys this weekend, the Superbowl after that, the Oscars the following month, and the Golden Globes a few weeks ago—all of these events mean fancy gowns, emotional acceptance speeches, big performances, and even greater focus on celebrities and Hollywood than usual. Big platforms get even bigger. Statements (and silences) are amplified. This heightened attention is an opportunity to signal what some of our biggest cultural stars value— or don't.

Every day, we’re seeing ordinary people take extraordinary risks. In Minnesota, especially, organizers and community members are putting themselves on the line. They’re also lobbying judges and pressuring politicians to mark this moment as different—pushing them to use their powers to speak up, hold hearings, create ultimatums for legislation, hold the line on the truth, and do far more than they have in response to other injustices over the last year. Many people who speak through official media channels—reporters, commentators, clergy, even late-night hosts—are doing their part.

All of this is essential. Together, it forms part of the narrative infrastructure required to change the political incentive structure and create a cost that even this administration may eventually see as too great to bear. But as we have seen over and over again, it’s not enough.

If we have any hope of stopping these attacks on people and on democratic freedoms, we need to take a more expansive view of narrative infrastructure. If we leave any part of it unactivated, we only encourage more repression, more normalization of force, and an even greater militarization around elections and democratic participation. And celebrity is a key part.

What Celebrity Can Actually Do

Celebrity influence is often misunderstood. It is not about Hollywood stars telling people what to think—changing hearts and minds. Few people are waiting for The Rock, Leonardo DiCaprio or Beyonce to tell them which injustice to care about. That’s not how it works.

What celebrity influence can do is signal visibility and urgency at moments when attention is already concentrated.

And celebrities can help people feel motivated: “Yes, this is the moment I should do something about what I already care about.” They can also help clear the path, giving people permission to participate, while also creating the space for them to do so.

When well-known people speak up, they send a signal that an issue has crossed a threshold: silence is no longer neutral.

Change is created by organizers, communities, and institutions, not celebrities. But they can make people feel less alone when they decide to speak, donate, protest, or take a risk themselves. And when celebrities face suppression, their freedom of speech becomes a greater cause than that of an everyday person. That momentum helped fight back against FCC’s pressure on ABC to cancel Kimmel, and we will need it as the media consolidation I’ve outlined in past newsletters becomes even more aligned with Trump’s goals of controlling all of our speech, from broadcast to TikTok.

Celebrities help do what I consistently say is one of the most important outcomes of narrative work: raising the floor of what’s acceptable and raising the ceiling for what’s possible.

What We Mean by “Celebrity”

When people hear the word “celebrity,” they often imagine a narrow world of A-listers and Hollywood elites. But that narrow definition of celebrity is over. We live in a new world now. Today, there are thousands of layers of visibility across hundreds of platforms.

Actors, athletes, musicians, influencers, creators, executives, organizers, and community figures all reach different audiences in different ways. A Twitch streamer that most people have never heard of can shape the worldview of millions. A WNBA player may reach fewer people than a multiple-grammy award winner, but hold far more credibility with their audience.

Some of those people may be less broadly famous than, say, Tom Cruise or Timothée Chalamet. But what they say may have more influence. Even a teacher or local organizer who may not be famous at all holds the weight of celebrity in certain ways:within their community, their voice carries real weight.

So when we say celebrity still matters, we’re not arguing that famous people are uniquely persuasive. We’re saying something more basic: those who are heard by people help shape what feels possible for people. And we need to activate every possible strategy to create possibilities for everyday people to speak up and act out. We cannot let Hollywood be silent, nor can we ignore the influence of other influential people and neglect engaging them.

Organizing Celebrity Like Any Other Constituency

In career of more than two decades, I’ve seen the ways in which leveraging culture and celebrity has worked to our benefit. Even the greatest celebrity skeptic acknowledges that the LGBTQ movement managed to drastically shift public opinion, an effort that was helped by celebrity support—from national celebrity to local. There are ways to leverage the role of celebrity if we understand what that role is, what it's not, and how to use it.

It’s why I’ve been working closely with legendary activist, actor and producer Jane Fonda to support her revival of the ​​Committee to Protect the First Amendment, a collective of artists, storytellers and cultural leaders standing together to defend free expression against government repression, industry complicity and intimidation. It’s aim is not only to challenge the corporate players in the industry (and prevent their appeasement of Trump), but also to convey the stakes of the fight to millions of Americans—giving them permission to join the fight and find their voice. Check out Jane’s recent appearance on Colbert for more on the Committee’s work.

There are many people with platforms willing to take a public stand. They want to understand their role, they want to help, and they want to take meaningful risks. But, of course, just being ready is not enough.

If we want sustained engagement, we have to organize people with platforms, approaching them just like any other group with assets and power to leverage. That means coordination, shared language, amplification, and support. It means helping people understand how their voice fits into a broader effort—and making sure they’re not left isolated when backlash comes.

It’s a matter of focus, resources and infrastructure.

The right wing invested in engaging culturally resonant figures (often B-list celebrities we often mocked) and folded them into their narrative infrastructure in ways that proved highly effective—and increased their power. It wasn’t about the level of fame of any one person, it was about the aggregate reach of all of them together, moving in the same direction, building a culture of people ready to take extraordinary action in service of their beliefs.

We have the opportunity to align celebrity as a strategy that can help us maximize opportunities for fighting back and winning what we want. We cannot afford to leave these voices unorganized.