Making Hollywood Great Again
There’s little doubt that the 2016 election was one of the most contentious and divisive political campaigns in the modern era. As Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton appealed to voters around the country, traditionally left-leaning Hollywood did some campaigning of its own. Celebrities took to social media to decry Trump, accusing him of being everything from a bully to a misogynist to a rapist. Celebrity fury increased after Trump was declared winner of the election, and some Hollywood notables said that they’d stop working altogether so long as Trump remained president.
What’s really outrageous here, though, isn’t that Donald Trump was elected by the people to be the 45th President of the United States. What’s outrageous is that Hollywood, which lives or dies on consumer dollars, is so out of touch with the American public. Celebrities are certainly entitled to their own opinions, but they can hardly expect hardworking Americans to support them when they throw temper tantrums and refuse to at least give the new president a chance. Perhaps a Trump presidency is exactly what’s needed to bring celebrities back down to earth and Make Hollywood Great Again.
Hollywood’s Big Break with the American People
During campaign season, Hollywood threw its wholehearted support behind Hillary Clinton. Ignoring legitimate questions about fraud at the Clinton Foundation and public concern over high-profile donors such as Saudi Arabia, celebrities appeared at Clinton rallies and deified her on social media. Using their status to demean and belittle others, some celebs even made a point of calling anyone who disagreed with Clinton a woman-hating xenophobe.
When Clinton lost the campaign, Hollywood found itself reeling. Deeply out of touch with the tens of millions of Americans who’d voted for Trump, celebrities just couldn’t understand how the famed billionaire and former host of The Apprentice had ascended to the highest office in the nation. Instead of losing graciously, though, these celebrities stormed onto TV, radio and social media to demand that he be removed from office. They spoke up in droves, issuing bold claims that they were ready to move to foreign countries.
As the inauguration approached, dozens of celebrities decided to boycott the celebration. Singers refused to perform and actors said that they wouldn’t attend the Inaugural Balls that they’d turned out for when Barack Obama was elected to office. Artists demanded that Ivanka Trump remove their incredibly expensive works from her home. While some on the left may have been delighted, many average Americans found themselves wondering when and why Hollywood had become so disconnected from the real world.
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