MP slams anti-Trump celebrities Fabricant: Stars who criticise Brexit or the US president are ‘rabble rousers’
CELEBRITIES who speak out on issues like Brexit or Donald Trump are “rabble rousers” who should be ignored, according to a Midlands MP.
Conservative Michael Fabricant hit out at Madonna, Bob Geldof, Lily Allen and Sir Patrick Stewart among others.
He said celebrities have enormous influence because of their huge followings on Twitter and other social media.
But Mr Fabricant, the MP for Lichfield in Staffordshire, said they did not understand what they were talking about.
He said: “When a musician like Madonna jokes about blowing up the White House, it only serves to crowd out the real and substantive criticisms of Trump.
“When he steps out of line, Trump needs to be challenged with facts and reason, not incoherent wailing or malicious threats.
“In an age where politicians must be incredibly careful about what they say and how they say it, famous celebrities should take similar care when they preach to us on political issues of which they might only have a limited understanding.”
He was writing in the Huffington Post after Star Trek actor Sir Patrick Stewart apologised for Brexit.
Mr Fabricant said: “The latest is Sir Patrick Stewart who has apologised on behalf of the British people for having the temerity to vote to leave the European Union. Whether it’s Bob Geldof sticking two fingers up at Leave-supporting fishermen, Charlotte Church mouthing off about Brexit on Twitter, or Meryl Streep’s anti-Trump speech at the Golden Globes, celebrities using their status political beliefs.
“Freedom of expression is of course a fundamental freedom and celebrities have just as much of a right to express themselves as anybody else, but their views tend to be are to increasingly spread their hideously homogenous and unoriginal. So it is extremely difficult to find a politically active celebrity who isn’t both pro-Remain and anti-Trump. Until Corbyn came along and sunk Labour lower than any of us thought possible, British luvvies almost exclusively supported Labour too.”
The MP complained that almost every celebrity had the same opinions, opposing Brexit and Donald Trump. But he said: “It seems as if a number of celebrities never think before they speak about politics or current affairs. Instead of making a constructive contribution to the debate, their input usually consists of mindless rage or empty platitudes. Of course, the more they mouth off, the less impact their public interventions have.” He added: “It’s now up to all of us to exercise more critical thinking and make up our own minds instead of relying on the luvvy class to think for us.”
Meanwhile, anti-Trump protesters held a demonstration in Birmingham this week as MPs debated the petition to stop the President’s state visit this year.