PRO: Using entertainment platforms for political advocacy generates awareness

As “Grey’s Anatomy” actor Jesse Williams stepped up to receive the humanitarian award at the 2016 BET awards ceremony held in June, he barely hesitated before launching into a speech that would raise the audience on its feet before he even reached the thick of it.

“The award is not for me, this is for the real organizers all over the country,” Williams said in his speech. “The people who are realizing that a system built to divide, impoverish and destroy us can not stand if we do.”

Williams is hardly the first actor to speak out against injustices during a ceremony meant to celebrate the achievements of the entertainment community. Actors such as Lin-Manuel Miranda, who delivered a sonnet in memory of the victims of Orlando during the 2016 Tony awards, and Leonardo di Caprio, who spoke of climate change in his Oscar speech have used their social status to enlighten viewers of the tragedies occurring around them.

“Making ‘The Revenant’ was about man’s relationship with the natural world,” Di Caprio said in his speech. “Climate change is real, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire species. We need to support leaders around the world who do not speak for the big corporations, but who speak for all of humanity.”

Award shows like the Oscars can attract upwards of 40 million viewers, an audience size that rivals political convention broadcasts.

Entertainers are also using social media for political advocacy. Musicians such as John Legend and Katy Perry can be found tweeting their political views to their millions of followers and using the hashtag #imwithher to support Hillary Clinton.

With 8.22 million followers on Twitter, Legend uses his social media presence to encourage voter registration and inform his followers about current political issues.

“Maybe people think some perfect candidate is going to show up and they’re waiting for that,” wrote Legend in a tweet, aimed to spur undecided voters. “It will never happen. Vote for the best one.”

Celebrities like Legend are often role models for the younger generation, and a simple tweet endorsing a product or person can immediately become a trend. By voicing their opinions on political matters that millennials  often don’t care about, celebrities are spreading awareness about what is going on politically in our country and benefitting society as a whole.