There’s that wonderful old saying: Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.
For those unfamiliar, the idiom simply advises us to distinguish important stuff from unimportant stuff, especially when they are in close proximity.
It’s a caution against confusion, of how the line between the worthwhile and the worthless can sometimes be so thin you can barely see it.
An age-old pearl of wisdom – now 512 years old – the baby/bathwater scenario is especially applicable today as we deal with the aftermath of the US election.
Several weeks have now elapsed since Donald Trump reclaimed the White House yet somehow, by some miracle, we are all still here.
As the fallout from the victory reverberates across the globe many things remain unclear as people ponder whether we are entering a glorious New Era or are on the brink of Doom.
Whatever the case, at least we’ll be able to dance to it on TikTok to the tune of YMCA.
Nonetheless, one thing has emerged with absolute, gleaming clarity from the election campaign – celebrity endorsements don’t mean jack.
In his famous opening address at the 2020 Golden Globes comedian Ricky Gervais warned all award-winners to refrain from using the podium as a political platform, boldly stating: “You’re in no position to lecture the public about anything. You know nothing about the real world.”
How right he was. Gervais wasn’t the first to say it, still his quip crystallised the long held view that the currency of celebrity pretty much stops at selling soft drink.
The utter impotence of celebrity endorsements was vividly demonstrated in 2004 – precisely 20 years ago – when Republican president George W Bush sought re- election.
After 9/11 celebrities far and wide banded together to badmouth Bush and get him kicked out of office, a crusade spearheaded by Michael Moore’s Oscar-winning, Bush-bashing documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.
Among his detractors: Kris Kristofferson; Sean Penn; Alec Baldwin; Tim Robbins; Woody Harrelson; Rob Reiner; George Clooney; Oliver Stone; Bruce Springsteen; Barbra Streisand; and Susan Sarandon, among many others.
The result? Bush was voted back in a landslide with a bigger mandate.
Yet the notion that celebrity endorsements hold sway over how people vote was again embraced by the Democrats, with many big names lining up to spruik, sing and twerk for Kamala Harris.
And the list was impressive: Taylor Swift; Beyonce; Tom Hanks; Barbra Streisand; Jennifer Lopez; Cher; Harrison Ford; Julia Roberts; George Clooney; Ariana Grande; Ben Stiller; the Avengers cast; Bruce Springsteen; Eminem; Lady Gaga; Arnold Schwarzenegger; Billie Eilish; Sharon Stone; Megan Thee Stallion; Jennifer Aniston; Spike Lee; Stephen King; Jamie Lee Curtis; Rosie O’Donnell; Leonardo DiCaprio; Carole King.
And, of course, Robert De Niro. Even George Takei chimed in.
The result? Trump was voted back in a landslide with a bigger mandate.
Notice a pattern here?
Seems that being endorsed by a celebrity has about as much credibility with the public as being endorsed by a supporting character from The Simpsons.
But here’s The Big Question:
Can you still enjoy the work of someone who backed a candidate other than the one you favoured? Do their political views muddy their art? (That’s two questions, Jim.)
If you liked Trump can you ever watch another Robert De Niro film? Is Leonardo Di Caprio’s performance in The Wolf of Wall Street now on the nose? Is Carole King’s iconic album Tapestry suddenly unlistenable? Can we shimmy to Taylor Swift as she tells us to Shake It Off? Or dance in the dark with Bruce Springsteen?
Can we ever watch Friends again? Or Pretty Woman? Or The Terminator? Do we have to junk our box set of classic Star Trek? Do we have to now watch Raiders of the Lost Ark in secret?
The same applies to the work of the those artists who backed Trump.
If you liked Kamala, will you ever watch another Jon Voight film? Think of what you’ll be missing Runaway Train. Midnight Cowboy, Coming Home, Deliverance. That episode of Seinfeld.
What about the comedy stylings of Rob Schneider? You might have once loved him in The Hot Chick and Deuce Bigalow, but can you now?
As for James Woods, can you really live without Salvador? Casino? Those guest spots on Family Guy?
And let’s not overlook Elon Musk, Trump’s most prominent backer.
Can anti-Trumpers wilfully ignore how he’s reshaping the car business, the space industry and global connectivity? Can they watch the launching or landing of a SpaceX rocket without awe? Or at all?
The answer to this querulous quandary is surprisingly simple: Relax. Just like Frankie said.
Relax, you say? How dare thee! Present-day thinking demands we respond hysterically whenever things don’t go our way.
Yet all signs point to the waning of that conditioned reflex. Finally, the realisation that adults behaving like four-year olds won’t change anything.
The truth is – and here’s something else we’ve known since forever – people have common sense and can tell the baby from the bathwater.
Confronted by a celebrity endorsement you didn’t agree with? Feeling bad that you love re-reading Misery eve though Stephen King wrote it? Or refuse to delete your X account even though Elon Musk owns it?
Well, just take that guilt and shake it off, as per the wise counsel from Taylor, who we all still love with a purity unblemished by politics.