The power of star attraction

Husband-and-wife comedians and commentators Michele A’Court and Jeremy Elwood share their views.

After two weeks offline (no media – news, social or otherwise) I landed back in New Zealand last week and asked the guy at Immigration if anything had happened while I’d been gone. “Not really,” he shrugged. “Jacinda still in charge?” He nodded. (Not a loquacious bunch, our national greeters.) “That’s all right, then,” I said, and tottered off, duty-free bags clanking.

At home, I checked Twitter. Oprah Winfrey for President in 2020, it told me. Anointed, it would seem, by Seth Myers at the Golden Globes Awards. That’s how we do politics now. I watched Winfrey’s speech and knew, if I could, I’d vote for her.

Many people in my circle think this is crazy, and I get that. One of the lessons we might learn from Trump is that a celebrity, a television star, doesn’t have the skills, the depth, the experience of the political machine required to run a country. Sure, they said, she’d be better than Trump, but their cat would be better than Trump. (This might be true – I haven’t met their cat.)

But there are other lessons we might learn from Trump. In one of these columns in March 2016, I predicted Trump’s win (I’ve never been so disappointed about being right) because, I suggested, if a campaign for President was a ballet, Trump was a stripper storming the stage in clear heels, writhing on a pole. After that you can’t get people’s attention back with a pas de deux from the Nutcracker. You’re going to need someone who can actually crack some nuts.

I’d put my money on Oprah. Who better to debate a TV host than a better TV host?

Trump won because too many Americans felt poor and afraid, and he promised jobs and a wall. Oprah might promise them a self-help book and a new car each, and who is to say that will be less effective? Plus I’d like to see Putin and Kim Jong-un given a session on her couch.

I understand traditionalists’ frustration that we are allowing celebrities to seep into politics. But politics has been seeping into the world of celebrity for decades. Blame Joe McCarthy back in the 1950s for making artists excruciatingly aware their work was political, and that remaining personally silent on political issues wasn’t an option. Actors and storytellers learned that lesson well. People with famous names and faces became conscious they also had a voice, and they’ve been using it.

Also - this is shallow of me, but it speaks to something deeper – I am enjoying the prospect that, by 2020, there could be a woman of colour in the British Royal Family and another in the White House. It feels like time.

If Oprah Winfrey’s Golden Globes speech really does turn out to be the soft start of a Presidential bid, as many people seem to believe, either in hope or dread, then it will truly mark a turning point in the relationship between celebrity and political ambition. Oprah versus Trump, the talk show queen vs a former reality TV star, could be the defining election battle of our generation, for good or ill.

I think most people underestimate the role Trump’s stint as the host of The Apprentice has played in his rise to power, mainly because outside of the US, the connection between viewers and stars of television and film isn’t nearly as deep. I actually met an Uber driver on my last trip there who openly admitted the main reason he voted for Trump was because he’d watched him tell people “You’re Fired” during his formative years.

I’m not against celebrities getting involved in politics. I certainly am not of the opinion that they should stay out of things they don’t have any experience with.

What world leader has experience in all of the facets of their new job, before they’re elected? I think anyone who chooses to try and use the platform they have been given, either through talent and hard work or just sheer good luck, for something bigger than personal gain should be commended for their efforts, however ham-fisted they might be.

However, there is a difference between voting for someone who you believe has something to contribute, and voting for anyone solely based on their recognition factor.

Celebrity politicians are nothing new – Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger were actors (admittedly not great ones, but still) before becoming governors of California, and I’m not convinced that Arnie won’t “be back” in the political ring hoping to emulate his state-mate in aiming for higher honours. Oscar winner Glenda Jackson was a UK Labour MP for nearly 20 years, musician Peter Garret had a tumultuous time in Australian politics through the early 2000’s, and our own Maggie Barry swapped actual beehives for the brick and mortar version a few years ago. If anything, it’s surprising we haven’t seen more celebrities in power, especially in this age of constant media coverage and a need to appear calm under scrutiny.

So if Oprah is really going to run, good for her. We’ve already crossed the Rubicon into a world where fame is seen as its own qualification for pretty much anything, so to paraphrase the gun lobbyists who are so enamoured of the current US President, maybe the only thing that can stop a bad guy with an agenda is a good woman with one of her own.