When top celebrities back politicians

Re When celebrity endorsements can backfire in politics, Opinion July 31 I agree with Michael Coren’s general thesis that endorsements by rich elite celebrities can backfire, as may have been the case for Brexit. However, that is not the case at the Democratic convention. It seemed to me that each celebrity was there to send a specific message to one portion of the audience.

Sarah Silverman presented herself as a staunch Bernie Sanders supporter who was urging Bernie lovers to support Hillary. And Lena Dunham and America Ferrera were there to point out the inherent foolishness of Donald Trump’s misogynistic, xenophobic world view: America (of Honduran descent) said that Trump considered her a rapist. Marv Gold, North York

There are some celebrity endorsements most politicians, regardless of how they lean, will gladly do without — endorsements coming, say, from Charlie Sheen or Sean Penn. While some are so plainly awkward — recall Clint Eastwood’s bewildering “empty chair” endorsement of Mitt Romney just minutes before the governor went on stage at the GOP’s 2012 nominating convention — they unintentionally backfire.

Back in 2011, when Donald Trump was only a celebrity and not the scratch and claw political animal he is now, the then reality TV star displayed his trademark egomania and hyperbole when he speculated that his was likely “the single most important endorsement a presidential candidate can have.” It’s clear Trump has since, perversely enough, grown even more convinced of that. Orest Slepokura, Strathmore, Alta.

So sorry Michael Coren has this hate on for Sarah Silverman, a smart, funny and, yes, successful comedian. Did Coren actually listen to her at the DNC convention? After introducing herself as a Bernie Sanders supporter, she railed at her fellow Bernie followers to get real and vote for Hillary Clinton.

So, no, she was not talking to Coren; she was addressing a very specific demographic of which Coren is not a member. Joni Boyer, Toronto