TV Legend Pat Sajak Hammers Hollywood Celebs Obsessed with Telling Americans How To Vote

By Kara Pendleton November 3, 2018 at 4:14pm

If there is one thing you can count on during an election season, it is that Hollywood celebrities will be telling Americans how to vote. Singer Taylor Swift recently had a go at it, but it backfired on her according to polls afterward.

One celebrity has spoken up about this obnoxious trend and if he wasn’t already a TV legend, he might have something to worry about in terms of being shunned and blacklisted. But the “Wheel of Fortune” host, Pat Sajak, took his fellow celebs to task over the “conceit” of presuming to be in any kind of position to tell others how to vote.

One of the (many) odd conceits of celebrityhood is the notion that the ability to sing or tell jokes or portray other characters somehow qualifies one to tell others how to vote. Not sure electricians or truckers or sales associates feel that way about themselves.

— Pat Sajak (@patsajak) November 2, 2018

His tweet is priceless in a mic-dropping kind of way. And his point is valid.

One recent ad, directed by actress Jodie Foster and filled with all-female celebs, urged people to get out to vote. But the message was laden with Democratic talking points, implying — in the all-too-familiar-virtue-signaling way — that you have to vote a certain way to prove you care about their issues.

New @MikeBloomberg go vote ad directed by Jodie Foster is all female celebrities, from @cher to @SophiaBush, talking straight to camera (on health care, gun violence and other main Democratic issues) https://t.co/r5hzOQDjHM

— Edward-Isaac Dovere (@IsaacDovere) October 30, 2018

Some of those featured in the ad include singer Cher, actresses Marlee Matlin, Lilly Tomlin and Ellen Pompeo. According to Bustle, other female celebs appearing in the ad include “Minka Kelly, … Olivia Munn, Constance Wu, (and) Laverne Cox.”

Is your vote influenced by celebrities?

Bustle wrote that former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, a co-producer of the ad, shed some light on the ad’s direct targeting of women. “It is hard to overstate the importance of this election … The good news is that more women are running than ever before, and female voters overwhelmingly support Democratic candidates for the House and Senate.”

“The polls suggest a gender gap in voting larger than anytime since the 1950s. But this election will be decided by turnout and getting people to cast their ballots …” But that is not the only “evidence” that the ad is designed to help Democrats.

Even the press release for the ad made its intention clear. “This is the latest ad in the largest digital effort supporting Democrats for the House and will run nationally and in competitive house races through Election Day.”

Talk show icon Oprah Winfrey has also gotten in on the act, personally campaigning for Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. LifeNews reported that Winfrey’s support for Abrams makes sense, since Winfrey has been promoting the “Shout Your Abortion” movement and Abrams has declared herself “a ‘staunch defender’ of abortion.”

There was some blowback to Winfrey’s involvement, however, when Vice-President Mike Pence dropped a truth-bomb on her. LifeNews wrote that Pence, who is campaigning for Abrams’ opponent, Brian Kemp, had something to say about it, in a nod to actor Will Ferrell’s “Anchorman.”

“This ain’t Hollywood! I’m kind of a big deal, too.”

Oprah Campaigns for Pro-Abortion Candidate, Mike Pence Replies: “This Ain’t Hollywood, It’s Georgia” https://t.co/8psHVTZ08e #Georgia #ProLife pic.twitter.com/ZL1fmJZJn3

— LifeNews.com (@LifeNewsHQ) November 3, 2018

And speaking of Ferrell, it hasn’t been just women getting involved in telling Americans how to vote. Ferrell is one of the men who has hopped on that bandwagon, too.

Also showing support for Abrams, Ferrell reportedly went door-to-door in Georgia, trying to convince voters to elect her. Pictures and video hit the Twitterverse of him doing that, decked out in an Abrams t-shirt.

Will Ferrell has arrived in Atlanta to fire up young #GaDems! 🔥

We’ve got just 11 days to #GetItDone for @staceyabrams, @SarahRiggsAmico and Dems across the state.

Sign up for a volunteer shift, and together WE will #TurnGaBlue➡️https://t.co/ncHl5WVslH pic.twitter.com/62JO9Perqk

— Georgia Democrat (@GeorgiaDemocrat) October 26, 2018

Will Ferrell was canvassing door to door for @staceyabrams in Georgia -awesome pic.twitter.com/nW9S1NLOzH

— laney (@misslaneym) October 28, 2018

Interestingly, in 2016, Ferrell begged Floridians to vote, calling Florida his home. The race between Abrams and Kemp is considered by some to be “tight” so “jumping the shark” with celebrity endorsements appears to be what the Abrams camp hopes will put them over the top.

But that only works if people in the heartland of the USA — ordinary folks who don’t live in mansions and have private chefs — actually care what the coastal elites say. While celebrities may hold sway for advertising purposes, when it comes to voting, the statistics say “not so much.”

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