Do Americans want celebrities to get involved in politics?

Jamie BallardData Journalist
June 11, 2018, 5:00 PM GMT+0

Nearly half of the people between 35 and 44 years old (46%) also supported celebrity involvement in politics.

President Trump recently granted clemency to Alice Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old woman who was serving a life sentence in prison for a nonviolent drug conviction. He chose to commute her sentence after a meeting with Kim Kardashian West, who lobbied for Johnson’s release. New data from YouGov shows that many Americans support celebrities getting involved in political causes.

When asked “Do you think celebrities should get involved in political causes like this, or not?” referring to Kardashian’s role in the Johnson pardoning, 39% of Americans said celebrities should get involved, while 27% said they should not.

Democrats (51%) were more likely than Republicans (32%) or Independent (34%) voters to say that celebrities should get involved with political causes. Men and women were equally likely (39%) to say that celebrities should get involved, though over a third of women (36%) responded that they weren’t sure whether or not celebrities should get involved.

The age group most likely to say that celebrities should get involved with political causes was people between 35 and 44 years old. Nearly half (46%) of this group said that celebrities should get involved with political causes, compared to 35% of people aged 45-54, and 37% of people 55 or older.

A previous YouGov survey also touched on the topic of celebrity politics, asking people “How much do you think most Americans care about the political opinions of prominent actors and musicians?” Almost half (47%) said that they thought people cared “a little,” while 18% said they thought people cared “a lot.”

Image: Getty