Celebrity Activism Research Articles

A knee at the table: Jay-Z, Colin Kaepernick, and the endurance of competing strategies in Black social justice

Abstract In August 2019, the U.S. National Football League (NFL) and entertainment company Roc-Nation entered into a partnership to amplify the league’s “social justice efforts.” This partnership received mixed reactions from news media and fans with significant negative criticism. Many accused the NFL of using the celebrity reputation of Roc-Nation founder, Jay-Z, for cultural capital to recoup from the negative press received following the 2016 protest of Colin Kaepernick. This article examines the media discourse following the announcement of the partnership and how it perpetuates a long-existing ideological feud within Black social justice that questions if the path to racial progress must be achieved with the help of white institutions. I argue that the adoption of neoliberal ideologies into contemporary activism has shifted focus from the needs of the communities being served to the brand image and market profits of celebrity activists and corporations.

“Shade Never Made Anybody Less Gay”: Taylor Swift’s Performance of Allyship and the Neoliberalization of Activism

ABSTRACT With the release of the singles “You Need to Calm Down” and “The Man” in 2019 and 2020, singer-songwriter Taylor Swift positioned herself as an ally to the LGBTQ+ community and a feminist artist. Swift’s longstanding pursuit of authenticity manifested as an attempt to be taken seriously as a political actor. “You Need to Calm Down” equates Swift’s own position as a controversial celebrity with structural homophobia while “The Man” is a neoliberal feminist manifesto that foregrounds dominance as feminist progress without examination of class- and race-based oppression. These examples illustrate the limitations of celebrity activism and allyship and the commodification of activism.

Green and glam: Celebritisation of environmental activism on instagram

<p>This study examines the celebritization of environmental activism on Instagram, focusing on two prominent Indonesian public figures: Hamish Daud and Nadine Chandrawinata. Through a qualitative discourse analysis of their Instagram posts from July to December 2023, we explore how environmental<br />sustainability is intertwined with the process of celebritization in the Indonesian context. Drawing on Driessens' (2013) framework of mediatization, personalization, and commodification, and employing Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model, this research investigates how these celebrities construct and promote their environmental activist personas through social media. Our findings reveal that Daud and Chandrawinata strategically blend their celebrity status with environmental messaging, creating a unique form of 'celebrity ecology'. They leverage Instagram's visual and narrative features to present environmental activism as part of an aspirational yet attainable lifestyle. The study identifies key strategies employed by these celebrities, including the integration of activism with personal branding, the use of family narratives to promote eco-friendly practices, and the endorsement of sustainable products. While their approach effectively raises awareness about environmental issues, it also reveals tensions between authentic advocacy and personal brand building. The research highlights how followers' interpretations of these messages can vary, sometimes focusing more on the celebrities' personal lives than on environmental content. This study contributes to the growing body of literature on celebrity activism in non-Western contexts and offers insights into the potential and limitations of using social media for environmental advocacy</p><p> </p>

Disaster, Societal Responses, and State Legitimacy in Crisis in Vietnam

This article examines the role of celebrity activism in post-disaster politics in the context of state authoritarianism in Vietnam. In late 2020, a chain of violent tropical storms hit Vietnam’s central highland region – host to hundreds of hydropower dams – triggering severe landslides and floods that devastated human lives and local livelihoods. Drawing on data gathered through social media, online platforms, and interviews with non-governmental organisations and private sector actors, this article shows how the rupture of these disaster events facilitated socio-political openings in state–society relations that might otherwise have remained closed. It explores these political contestations, attributions of blame, and the competing recovery efforts that emerged between government actors, celebrities, and citizens. Public debates over the natural and political catalysts of the disaster revealed major structural and governance problems for the state, which allowed voluntary charity work by a celebrity to supplement state functions during the disaster. Considered illegal under state law, the article shows how support from the public and lower tiers of government for private charity work challenged state legitimacy. Under pressure from within and from citizens, the central government had to amend its policies to accommodate voluntary disaster relief – to restore its flagging legitimacy.

Madonna versus “Mother Russia?” Visual Anthropology of Loneliness and Gendered Nationalism on Russian 2021–2023 Political Posters

Abstract This article is aimed at transdisciplinary (critical International Relations, visual anthropology, and existential philosophy) analysis of Russian gendered nationalism and masculine ontological insecurities. It explores and re-imagines how visual representations of “Mother Russia” became signifiers of the phallocentric voice of the Russian gendered state. What can return the voice back to the “invisible women”? I claim that the political activism of the singer Madonna in the spheres of resistance to warfare and protection of gender minorities may shed new light on hidden manipulations with masculine anxieties in modern Russia. Besides original empirics, the article proposes theoretical avenues to integrate into gendered nationalism studies research on what I call masculine “politics of loneliness.” I also look at the role such politics plays in constituting Russia's domestic narcissistic master narratives of the collective self and its frontiers with transnational celebrity activism. Based on feminism and narrative IR, this article investigates the “sociological dimension” of Russian loneliness. It examines the alienation of femininity as reflected on Russian street posters photographed during 2021–2023 and represented in the form of five “dialectical collages.”

Popular culture and celebrity activism in the British solidarity campaign with Sandinista Nicaragua, 1979–1990

Popular culture and celebrity activism in the British solidarity campaign with Sandinista Nicaragua, 1979–1990

Music, Films and Celebrity Environmental Activism to Educate Students to take Actions

The main purpose of this article is to contribute to improving environmental education in school in order to encourage the achievement of 2030 sustainable development goals Agenda. This study has an exploratory nature since it involves bibliographical research aimed at highlighting how music, films, and celebrity activism can be used as educational resources to unlocks the potential for interdisciplinary and multisensory learning in order to evoke emotions, raise awareness about environmental issues and inspire students to take action. In particular, it will be highlighted how teachers can use CLIL approach and thoughtfully selected music videos, films, and documentaries to facilitates not only the acquisition of linguistic and specific knowledge but also broader skills that are essential in today's interconnected world.

Coca-Cola product placement strategy backfires – a case of celebrity activism

Research methodology A secondary research method was used to collect data for this case. The authors have made use of newspaper articles and published articles written by journalists and experts which are available in the public domain. Case overview/synopsis Instances of celebrity activism such as athlete activism are rising. Social media has amplified the voice of celebrities and given them a personal channel to directly communicate with their fans without any media censorship. The same is true especially concerning endorsement by sports superstars, who now seem to have a mind of their own, independent of the official line of clubs, tournament organizers or sponsoring companies. This case discusses the embarrassment and financial loss faced by soft drinks giant Coca-Cola due to the public snub by football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo during an official press conference of the EURO 2020 championship. Complexity academic level Undergraduate and postgraduate students studying marketing management and brand management courses in business management and commerce streams can use this case. This case can also be used for marketing specialization students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Measuring The Effectiveness of Celebrity Activism: Celebrity Advocate v Celebrity Endorser

The influence of celebrities in politics has long been underestimated in political science and political communications disciplines. This research explores the effectiveness of two types of celebrity activism—celebrity advocacy and celebrity endorsements—to determine which type produces broader and more focused media coverage. Through case study analysis, this essay finds that although celebrity advocates and celebrity endorsers generate similarly broad media coverage, celebrity advocates generate media coverage that is more focused on their cause. In addition, by taking into consideration celebrities’ gender, race, and the political leaning of the cause advocated or endorsed by the celebrity, the research finds that all three variables also affect the breadth and the focus of the media coverage, but more quantitative research is required to confirm a causal relationship. This research has important implications for governmental and non-governmental actors engaging with celebrity endorsers and celebrity advocates—while both are equally capable of generating broad media coverage, celebrity advocates are better suited to retaining the focus of the media coverage on the cause, and not themselves.

Celebrity Capital and Social Movements: A Textual Analysis of Bollywood Celebrities’ Tweets on 2020-21 Indian Farmers’ Protest

ABSTRACT Building on the global trend of celebrity activism and concept of celebrity capital, this study qualitatively examines Twitter posts of the Bollywood celebrities. The aim of this analysis was to identify varying discourses about the 2020–21 Indian farmers’ protest as celebrities are considered significant players of discourse building and social movements. The thematic analysis showed that pro- and anti-farmers’ protest celebrities used rhetorical and explanatory support to build their discourses. Some celebrities even engaged in celebrity-shaming and name-calling to urge fellow Bollywood celebrities to support or stop supporting the protesters. Findings suggest that global trend of celebrity activism is becoming more visible in Bollywood and celebrities are using their influence to support or oppose social movements like the farmers’ protest.

Vegan celebrity activism: an analysis of the critical reception of Joaquin Phoenix’s awards speech activism

ABSTRACT Acceptance speeches have long been used by celebrity activists as platforms from which to promote their personal, political or ethical agendas. The actor Joaquin Phoenix, an outspoken proponent for animal rights and veganism, dominated the Hollywood awards season in 2020 for his portrayal of Arthur Fleck in Joker and used his platform to address this cause. The reaction to Phoenix’s speech in the trade and mainstream press reveals much about the role of celebrity vegan activism in the contemporary cultural and political climate. This article analyses the critical reception of Phoenix’s Oscar speech across 37 US and UK trade press and mainstream news articles. In doing so, we highlight how gender and notions of hegemonic masculinity are managed and reproduced through the press discourse on celebrity animal rights activism. We argue that Phoenix’s star persona and celebrity advocacy complicate the gendered norms associated with vegan practice. Finally, we address the issues of authenticity by examining Phoenix’s performance of advocacy at the Oscars to argue that and the actor’s speech popularises an emergent redemptive narrative of veganism, which negotiates hegemonic masculine ideals.

Becoming Celebrity Girl Activists: The Cultural Politics and Celebrification of Emma González, Marley Dias, and Greta Thunberg

Young girls have historically been symbols to be conjured by social movements to garner sympathy for social causes, but are frequently silenced as political agents. This study addresses the celebrification of non-celebrity girls such as Emma González, Greta Thunberg, and Marley Dias and analyzes how backlash politics promote their fame. Some ordinary girls become celebrity activists in part because the trolling and negative media coverage helps propel their visibility, while others enjoy relatively positive experiences with fame. Both of these types of representations of celebrity girl activists - whether fueled by backlash or not -can serve as cautionary tales or as inspiration for girls who wish to engage in activism. Through an intersectional feminist lens, I address the complex social media narratives that emerge about girl empowerment and negotiation of risk - emphasis on self-care and struggle - when girls are famous activists.

‘I wanna kill my rapist’: Margaret Cho’s #12DaysofRage campaign as promotional digital activism

On November 1, 2015, comedian Margaret Cho announced a two-part campaign inspired by her history as a sexual-abuse survivor, to promote her new music video ‘I Wanna Kill My Rapist’. This included the creation of the hashtag #12DaysofRage. In this article, I explore how Cho used her status as a celebrity to circulate #12DaysofRage which acted as a discursive intervention in rape culture. I used content analysis and thematic analysis to identify themes in the archive of 2401 tweets I collected. I also performed a feminist discourse analysis on both the tweets and news coverage of the campaign to situate the hashtag within its historical, social, and political context. I argue that Cho performed what I call ‘promotional activism’, a subsection of celebrity activism where a celebrity promotes a cause as part of the promotion of a particular project or product. Cho’s choice to centre herself in the campaign made it impossible to separate Cho from the hashtag, preventing #12DaysofRage from greater viral potential, but still acting as a resonant, but ephemeral, gathering point for survivor-focused advocacy.

The Criminal Justice Activism of Naomi Osaka: A Case Study in the Criminology of Celebrity Culture.

This paper examines the criminal justice activism of tennis star Naomi Osaka as it evolved during the COVID-19 pandemic regarding matters of police violence and racial justice. Calls to reform and defund the police received much attention in the aftermath of the police killing of George Floyd in May 2020. The Floyd killing also motivated Naomi Osaka to begin her criminal justice activism, which has generally been very well received. Adopting a constructionist perspective, I investigate how Osaka’s criminal justice activism has, in the broader context of the development of celebrity culture, been subjectively motivated and inter-subjectively received by the public and in the news media. Theoretically this paper has the two-fold objective of developing a model of the conditions favorable to the successful reception of celebrity activism and, additionally, of suggesting how such criminologically relevant activism can be understood in terms of a process of celebritization of criminal justice and police reform as causes worthy of attention. This case study of Osaka’s criminal justice activism reveals the important role a celebrity can play in influencing public sentiments about key aspects of policing and crime control as an important element of criminal justice culture.

Celebrity activism on racial justice during COVID-19: the death of George Floyd, the rise of Naomi Osaka, and the celebritization of race in pandemic times

ABSTRACT This paper examines the development of celebrity activism on racial justice in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Extending from efforts to provide support in relief efforts, celebrity activism during the first year of the pandemic dramatically turned to matters of racial justice in the wake of the video-taped police killing of George Floyd. Based on a constructionist perspective of celebrity, I analyze the patterns and dynamics of this celebrity activism regarding racial justice in terms of the motives and objectives on the part of the celebrities and the reception thereof by the public and in the media. I will thereby focus on the activism of Naomi Osaka as a particularly successful effort because the tennis star’s advocacy on racial justice has enabled her to acquire a central position in the world of celebrity activism. I show that the racial justice activism embraced widely among celebrities during the COVID-19 pandemic developed in function of the dynamics of celebrity culture rather than as an exponent of contemporary racial justice currents. Racial justice itself thereby became an object of celebrity culture, the widespread and enduring nature of which both scholars and advocates of racial justice today need to recognize.

Black celebrity matters: on the instability of fame

In a tradition of Black celebrity activism, famous African Americans throughout history have used their platform to speak out and act against racial injustice in the United States. However, in the wake of the contemporary Black Lives Matter uprisings, Black celebrity matters have become increasingly unstable. This report explores the present and future of Black celebrity in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the hands of law enforcement in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 May 2020. In the current moment, celebrity is perniciously constructed through the hyper-visibility of victims of anti-Black violence such as Floyd and Breonna Taylor. While these slain individuals become icons in the circulation of their name and image across media forms, what is termed the Black Celebrity Creative Class has demanded structural change at the intersection of aesthetics and politics in the entertainment industry to varying degrees of effectiveness. Growing frustration with the contradictions of fame amongst Black publics has compelled a turn towards the demand for the abolition of both capitalism and celebrity. Ultimately, this report seeks to identify and assess how the investment in, and stakes of, Black celebrity might be re-imagined in the twenty-first century.

Voice of the stars - exploring the outcomes of online celebrity activism

ABSTRACT These days, it is common to see celebrities advocating various controversial, socio-political issues On digital platforms. However, existing research does not demonstrate how the public perceives this activist approach of celebrities and how it influences their brand image. Drawing a parallel from brand activism literature and its effect on consumer behavior, the current study examines the impact of celebrity activism on celebrities’ brand value. The findings support that perception of authenticity and hypocrisy affect attitude towards the celebrity and celebrity brand self-connection, which influences celebrity brand loyalty, identification, and intention to purchase the brands endorsed by the celebrity. A negative attitude towards celebrity activism negatively moderates the effect of celebrity brand self-connection on celebrity brand identification. The study contributes to the literature on celebrity branding and celebrity activism. The findings can help celebrity brand managers and PR professionals to understand the strategic implications of celebrity activism.

Re-fashioning stories through feminist filmmaking, an interview with Samita Nandy

To conclude this Special Issue ‘Re-Fashioning Stories for Celebrity Counterpublics’ of the Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies (AJMS), I am delighted to share an interview with Samita Nandy, celebrity scholar, filmmaker and director of the Centre for Media and Celebrity Studies (CMCS). Her research focuses on the cultural dimensions of fame, with a specific interest in celebrity activism, storytelling and the performance of authenticity and intimacy in glamorous narratives. In addition to her academic work, Nandy is also a certified broadcast journalist from Canada and media critic. I had the opportunity to assist her and Kiera Obbard with the organization of the 8th CMCS Conference, which inspired this Special Issue. This interview is thus an opportunity to further expand our reflection on the political possibilities of storytelling and celebrity counterpublics. Our discussion builds on the themes and arguments developed throughout this issue to further explore what popular storytelling means in practice. She reflects on her engagement with celebrity culture and life-writing in her feminist research and artistic endeavours, and how it has empowered her to tell personal and collective stories. The interview format and its themes provide a unique opportunity to contemplate the affordances of a reflective practice paradigm and the artistic applications of disciplinary knowledge, one which bridges academic work with media professions, and which we hope will resonate with AJMS readers.

Idols, celebrities, and fans at the time of post-catastrophe

ABSTRACT This article explores the ways in which activism was performed and negotiated by Japanese celebrities and idols after the Great East Japan Earthquake and Fukushima Nuclear Disaster that occurred in March 2011. Post-catastrophe, humanitarian works, particularly visits to the affected areas, by celebrities and idols such as AKB48 were widely reported by the mainstream media. At the same time, there had been a social tendency within Japanese showbusiness to keep celebrities silent from making public anti-nuclear claims. While most celebrities kept their ‘neutral’ stance, there were a few instances where celebrities expressed clear anti-nuclear messages. Comparing idols’ politically ‘safe’ humanitarian work with other cases of celebrity activism, my article aims to examine the ways in which the nature of idols impacts the form of their activism. Aligning with the notion of ‘celebrity citizenship,’ ‘affective intimacy’ shared among celebrities/idols and fans plays a crucial role in identifying celebrity/idol activism. I argue that idol activism in particular mirrored the existing characteristics of the relationship between idols and fans.

The FTA Show: Jane Fonda, the GI Movement, and Celebrity Activism in the Late Vietnam War

AbstractThis article explores the FTA (or Free the Army) show, a touring antiwar performance led by Hollywood actors Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland in 1971. FTA sought to support antiwar GIs who, by the early 1970s, constituted a GI movement opposed to the Vietnam War. FTA visited military towns in the continental United States, performing for an estimated 15,000 GIs and reflecting antiwar GIs’ increasingly intersectional analysis of war, militarism, racism, and sexism. In November, the troupe traveled to the Asia‐Pacific—the staging ground for the American war effort in Vietnam—to perform for an additional 64,000 US troops in Hawaii, the Philippines, Japan, and Okinawa. Pitched as a counter‐USO show, FTA, which took its critique of the war to the doorstep of the US military, not only served as a megaphone for the under‐reported GI movement, but also evolved celebrity activism, taking it to new heights of oppositional politics.