Grande ambition
Singer hopes to sway voters with push for Sanders
Bernie Sanders can now say he has the backing of one of entertainment’s biggest stars: Ariana Grande appears to have endorsed the Democratic presidential candidate after meeting with him at her show in Atlanta earlier this week. Grande shared a few backstage photos of the beaming duo Wednesday on social media, referring to Sanders as “my guy” and voicing her gratitude for the Vermont senator’s progressive platform.
“Thank you Senator Sanders for coming to my show, making my whole night and for all that you stand for!!!” the Thank U, Next singer tweeted. “@headcountorg and i are doing our best to make you proud . ... also ... i will never smile this hard again.”
The singer’s endorsement makes her the latest celebrity to hop on the Bernie train. The senator already has the public support of actors Shailene Woodley and Danny Devito, as well as model Emily Ratajkowski.
Democratic Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Alexandria Ocasio-cortez of New York announced their endorsements for Sanders last month.
In July, Sanders teamed up with rapper Cardi B to create a viral campaign video aimed at getting young people more involved in politics.
Sanders expressed mutual admiration of Grande in his own tweet.
“I want to thank @Arianagrande for not only being a wonderful entertainer, but also for being such an outstanding advocate for social justice,” Sanders wrote. “We must all be prepared — like Ariana has shown — to fight for everyone who is struggling.
“It was great to meet her in Atlanta last night.”
Grande is one of countless celebrities to work with
Headcount, an organization that uses music and culture to promote voter registration.
According to the group’s Twitter bio, Headcount has registered more than 600,000 people online and at concerts and music festivals, including on every stop of Grande’s Sweetener world tour (where the outreach program is called #thankunextgen).
According to Emily Larsen, a political reporter at the Washington Examiner, Grande donated money to the campaign for Kamala Harris, another presidential hopeful, at a fundraiser in July.
Grande’s manager, Hollywood bigwig Scooter Braun, organized the event at his home in Los Angeles, with Katy Perry and Demi Lovato among the other famous faces in attendance.
But Grande’s very public support for Sanders on Wednesday leaves little room for doubt about her current preferred candidate.they say every vote counts, and with more than 67 million Twitter followers and 167 million fans on Instagram, Grande may very well be one of Sanders’s most important celebrity advocates to date.