In events that were foreseeable to anyone outside America’s cultural elite, the actress and popstar Selena Gomez is facing an online backlash to her now-deleted Instagram post decrying Donald Trump’s immigration policy. The offending video featured a sobbing Selena, who has Mexican heritage, wailing into her phone camera that ‘all my people are being attacked’ and that ‘I wish I could do something but I can’t’. It was a performance of such histrionic hamminess it’s little wonder Miss Gomez missed out on an Oscar nod for Emilia Perez.
The reaction has been swift and unforgiving. Many were quick to point out that, contrary to Gomez’s assumptions, Trump’s plan to deport unlawful migrants – especially those who’ve committed crimes – is actually rather popular. It’s almost as if it helped him win an election recently. As the president’s border tsar, Tom Homan, told Fox News: ‘We’ve got half a million children who were sex trafficked into this country, separated from their families, put in the hands of criminal cartels to be smuggled into this country. This administration can’t find over 300,000. Where’s the tears for them?.’
It’s not as if these celebs haven’t been warned
But what is most astonishing about Gomez’s tin-eared tantrum is the complete absence of self-awareness. A billionaire aged just 32, her diatribe could have been recorded in any of her multiple properties. Over the years, she has owned at least five in California, one in Texas, and is renting a luxury apartment in New York. Given the largesse of her lifestyle, it is hardly surprising that Selena’s grasp on public opinion isn’t the firmest. But then perhaps she should have the humility and self-awareness to acknowledge as much and keep schtum – especially on the issues that most agitate the American working class.
Even more remarkable is that, despite almost 10 years of decrying Maga, Hollywood luvvies still haven’t realised that their hysterical political interventions aren’t just ineffective, they actively help their sworn-enemy Donald Trump. Nothing is more likely to convince your average middle American that Trump is on their side than seeing a succession of super-rich celebrities wailing into their iPhones from the comfort of their West Coast mansions – particularly about policies which would probably only impact them were the guy who cleans their pool to be among those kicked out.
It’s not as if these celebs haven’t been warned. During his magnificent demolition of Hollywood’s political pretensions at the Golden Globes in 2020, Ricky Gervais told the potential winners that ‘if you do win an award tonight, don’t use it as a platform to make a political speech. You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world. Most of you spent less time in school than Greta Thunberg. So, if you win, come up, accept your little award, thank your agent, and your God, and fuck off’. The stunned looks on the faces of his A-List audience suggested it was the first time many of them had been told their opinions weren’t wanted. Judging by Selena Gomez’s outburst this week, Gervais’ message bypassed others completely.
We saw it again during the recent presidential election campaign when Kamala Harris chose to surround herself with a bevy of big names. Her endorsers included Beyoncé, Oprah Winfrey, Taylor Swift, Megan Thee Stallion, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, Bruce Springsteen, Ariana Grande, Barbra Streisand, Olivia Rodrigo, and many, many more. Several of them were chosen to appear on stage with her at campaign rallies. By contrast, Democrats delighted in mocking the paltry number of celebrities willing to publicly back Trump. ‘Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan? Is that all you’ve got? Kamala’s got Charlie XCX!’. And yet, shock horror, it turns out Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan were more in tune with American public opinion than the Cambridge-born instigator of brat summer. Go figure.
One does have to wonder exactly when it will dawn on the likes of Selena Gomez that if they really do care about the causes they claim to espouse, then they would serve them best by just keeping their mouths shut. There are legitimate criticisms to be made of Trump’s immigration policies, especially his plan to revoke birthright citizenships from some Americans. But a billionaire Disney Channel alumna is hardly the ideal person to lead the charge.
They say any successful politician has to be lucky, especially when it comes to their enemies. Margaret Thatcher had Michael Foot, Arthur Scargill and General Galtieri. Donald Trump has had Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris and now, Selena Gomez. He couldn’t have chosen more helpful opponents if he’d tried. Hollywood’s luvvies have become the president’s useful idiots. They’re just too self-absorbed to notice.
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