Once a political climate where Republicans and Democrats could constructively engage in productive dialogue despite ideological differences, Americans now describe the United States as the most divided it has been since the Civil War. During President Donald Trump’s second term in office, Republican politicians — many of whom support the radical, right-wing agenda Make America Great Again (MAGA) — have gained control of all three branches of government.
The current era of American politics is defined by polarization across party lines. A 2025 Pew Research Study found that 89% of Democrats were frustrated with the Republican Party, and 86% of Republicans were frustrated with the Democratic Party.
“For the Urban community, this divide between the two political parties is prominent,” Sofia Gitelman ’26 said. “It’s easy for a lot of people to say very extreme things when it comes to Trump, everything’s very black and white with how they feel about him, and so I think it makes the divide more evident.”
Celebrities may contribute to this division by sharing their political opinions in online posts or attending political events. Their opinions may also affect how fans perceive them. In a survey conducted by The Urban Legend, 40 out of 46 respondents — 87% — thought that celebrities’ political views affect their popularity.
Urban students take celebrities’ political views and morals into consideration when deciding whom to support. “Celebrities carry a lot of power, influence and money,” Frannie Oakes ’26 said. “When supporting a celebrity, it’s important to consider how their political views impact how they are also using their platform. I often question if, by supporting a celebrity, I’m contributing to a good influence or a bad influence. … When the truth came out about James Charles, for example, I felt like a bad person for ever supporting him.” In 2021, Charles faced accusations of exchanging sexually explicit messages with minors.
Criticism of celebrities’ political stances extends beyond the Urban community. Celebrities have received both praise and backlash across social media platforms in response to their political views, especially regarding the Trump administration.
Sydney Sweeney, for example, received backlash for a 2025 American Eagle ad, which many viewers felt promoted eugenics and white supremacy, as The Urban Legend reported on last year. Sweeney has been facing social media scrutiny for her connections to MAGA prior to the ad, and now, backlash from the public may be impacting her career.
Sweeney starred in the movie “Christy,” which became one of the worst-grossing wide-released movies in box office history after its Nov. 7, 2025 release, according to Forbes. In its opening weekend, the $30 to $40 million budget movie made just $1.3 million. Additionally, “Christy” earned just $108,000 in its second weekend, a record-setting drop of 91.7% from its initial week.
“[Sweeney’s] political views and her American Eagle ad make me feel bad about her, and I wouldn’t want to support her after that,” Gitelman said. “Her fans realizing, ‘This doesn’t align with me and this is wrong,’ made people want to support her less. I think that is why ‘Christy’ did badly — because people are less likely to go and support her work when they feel like she doesn’t deserve the support anymore.”
The internet named Sweeney MAGA’s Newest It Girl in Aug. 2025 after her American Eagle ad and reports that she is a registered republican. Fox News host Julie Banderas said on air, “I’m so … tired of this nonsense where you are not allowed to ever celebrate someone who is white and blonde and blue-eyed.”
Kyle Speta ’26 shared a different idea of why people support — or don’t support — certain celebrities. “Who Democrats celebrate is not based on a person’s skin color, hair or eye color, but rather on what a person does,” she said. “Yes, generally we don’t agree with who Fox News and Republicans celebrate, … [but that] is because of the actions the person takes.”
Similar to Sweeney, Nicki Minaj’s political stance became prominent in the media after she made a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest in December 2025. She appeared in an interview with prominent Trump supporter and right-wing political activist Erika Kirk, wife of the late political activist Charlie Kirk.
During the interview, Minaj praised Trump for his work as president. Later in the interview, she said that boys should just be boys, a slogan associated with excusing violent behavior from males — particularly in rape and assault cases — by framing it as natural. This comment quickly garnered criticism from viewers, particularly women’s rights and LGBTQ+ activists.
LGBTQ+ and immigrant communities have long been the backbone of Minaj’s fanbase. Her attendance at an event associated with movements against immigrants and LGBTQ+ communities made people question her morals, particularly because Minaj is an immigrant herself. The shock of her political beliefs contributed to the magnitude of criticism she faced across the internet.
“I used to love Nicki Minaj; I thought that she was super iconic and funny. But now that this whole new Trump association is coming out, it’s changing my opinions of her,” Katie Carroll ’27 said. “Why do we support her, and what even makes her likable? This entire situation is really messed up.” Additionally, 83% of respondents to the Urban Legend survey said that celebrities being openly conservative negatively affects their views of them.
Many spoke out against Minaj, including celebrities such as the rapper Khia. “Guess you had to pretend to be Donald Dump’s friend so he wouldn’t send your immigrant ass back over there to Trinidad,” Khia wrote in a post on X.
Some of Minaj’s supporters argue that her political views and support of Trump are merely personal beliefs and shouldn’t determine fans’ opinions of her, according to CBS News.
In December 2025, singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter spoke out against MAGA and the Trump administration. Her comments came after the official White House TikTok account posted a video depicting ICE officers tackling and arresting suspected illegal immigrants to Carpenter’s song “Espresso.”
Carpenter replied to the video in a post on X, where she wrote, “This video is evil and disgusting. Do not ever involve me or my music to benefit your inhumane agenda.”
As a result, the White House account muted the TikTok and released a statement in which they wrote, “Here’s a Short n’ Sweet message for Sabrina Carpenter: we won’t apologize for deporting dangerous criminal illegal murderers, rapists and pedophiles from our country. … Anyone who would defend these sick monsters must be stupid, or is it slow?”
However, many of Carpenter’s fans appreciated her response. Carpenter’s X post has received more than 1.8 million likes as of Jan. 22, while the White House account’s X post received 47,000 likes before they took it down on Dec. 5 2025. One fan wrote in a post on X, “Proud to support an artist who uses her platform to support vulnerable, marginalized, and demonized groups of people with her voice and charitable efforts.”
While Carpenter received a lot of praise, some criticized her response and defended the Trump administration. “The job of the government is to put Americans first. It’s not inhumane for those who don’t belong here to go home. Americans should prioritize Americans and the government should prioritize Americans. That’s all there is to it,” one commenter wrote as cited by Fox News.
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Kenny Loggins responded similarly to Carpenter when the Trump administration used his work. In response to a video depicting Trump dropping feces on people at a No Kings protest using Loggins’ song “Danger Zone,” the artist asked Trump to remove his song from the post on Truth Social. “I can’t imagine why anybody would want their music used or associated with something created with the sole purpose of dividing us,” Loggins wrote in a post on X.
Many other celebrities have criticised the Trump administration for appropriating songs for political purposes. The Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Olivia Rodrigo, Jess Glynne and Billie Eilish, among others, have all spoken out against the president and his administration for using their music without their consent. Each of these artists has also received mixed responses on social media.
Oakes reflected on how political views affect her support for Billie Eilish. . “She donates so much of her profits to climate and food justice organizations. This made me want to support her even more, seeing how she allocates her power to spread awareness and attention to people who aren’t receiving helpful treatment from the government,” she said.
Those who stayed quiet when Trump used their work or name in promotional videos have received backlash. In November 2025, the Trump administration used Taylor Swift’s song “The Fate of Ophelia” in an Instagram video compilation of Trump, the American flag and the White House. When Swift did not respond to the video, one social media user wrote, “[Swift] is another lady who simply allows [The Trump administration] to use her music but hates to be called MAGA.”
Remy Kauffman ’26 noted that celebrities’ silence on political discourse can impact his view of them. “When a celebrity’s work is used in politics and they choose silence, the silence speaks louder than any endorsement,” he said.
This may be the popular consensus, but some disagree. While the majority of respondents to The Urban Legend’s survey, 74%, said that a celebrity being openly liberal makes them have a more positive view of them, 2.4% felt that it negatively impacted their views of them.
Others believe that political views do not have to determine how celebrities are perceived. “Politics have been at the center of discussion for so long,” Olivia Prime ’27 said. “Since Trump has been in office, you’re either Democratic or Republican, … and your views affect your reputation. I think that you should be able to celebrate someone and acknowledge their achievements without focusing on their political views.”
As the political landscape evolves, the bipartisan divide may continue to grow. Gitelman reflected on the importance of forming one’s own political opinions. “It’s important to take [celebrities’] opinions with a grain of salt,” she said. “You should be able to form a separate opinion from what the media says, because at the end of the day, your opinions should be about what you think and not what others influence you to think.”