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Agree Or Disagree?

November 4, 2008
Wendie
Carrie Underwood
75 Comments

“There is someone I do support, but I don’t support publicly.  I lose all respect for celebrities when they back a candidate.  It’s saying that the American public isn’t smart enough to make their own decisions.  I would never want anybody to vote for anything or anybody just because I told them to.”

Carrie Underwood in next week’s TV Guide

75 CommentsLeave a comment

  • I just lost ALL respect for Carrie Underwood – wait – did I ever have any “respect” for this bimbo? *thinks* Nope, no I don’t think so. In fact, I’ve always hated her. STFU, you dumbass Carrie Underwood! What a stupid, weak and incredibly snobbish thing to say.

  • That is the smartest comment I’ve ever heard from a celebrity. It show’s that she’s very well grounded and not full of herself.

    Plus she HOT as hell

  • That’s insulting to the American people’s intelligence. A celebrity’s support carries no more weight than my neighbor’s public support of a candidate when they put a sign on their front lawn. And quite frankly if someone’s public endorsement is going to influence me, it’s someone in politics like Colin Powell, not Carrie Underwood.

  • what a coward…i thinks shes just afraid that she will loose fans.. if she says who she is supporting.. she is so full of shit.

  • K. said it, right there. But I DO agree with the jist of what she’s saying, that people oughn’t vote for a candidate just becaus ethey’re favourite celebrity does, that this is a flimsy reason to choose a candidate, but on the other hand, it is SHE who is insulting the intelligence of people-who-like-celebrities by insinuating that they’re all such idiots that they’re going to vote for a candidate because they’re favourite celeb does.

    Fuck Carrie Underwood. Do not like that snobby little bitch.

  • You know who you vote for is a personal thing and you should not have to tell anyone if you do not want to. So I can see where she is coming from but she could have worded it differently so she did not come off sounding bad.

  • thats such bullshit
    i wouldnt vote for someone just because a celebrity told me so
    btw carrie, you’re not that special…just because you vote for obama or mccain doesnt mean your fans will vote for them too

  • Disagree. Regardless of what a celebrity says (smart) people will make their own decisions. Just because Ted Nugent says go McCain doesn’t mean I am running to go vote for McCain… ;) GO OBAMA!!!!! Me thinks Ms. Underwood is a red shirt-er.

  • She’s obviously a McCain suppoeter and just ashamed to asmit it. Can’t say that I blame her….. that’s embarassing!

  • that might be the first smart thing i’ve ever heard her say
    regardless of whether a celeb is a republican or democrat or third party or anything…. they shouldn’t be forceful with their opinions on fans.

  • God Bless Carrie… I don’t think, because she is a celebrity that her opinion matters more… maybe if more of those Hollywood Elite types would listen to this; it would be a better world. Her opinion is the same as mine and all of you.

  • I think she makes a good point – people should vote for the candidate who they agree with – not the candidate their favorite celeb backs…. but to say she loses respect, that’s just unnecessary. Get off your high horse, Carrie, and write some more music. :)

  • that is why we have freedom of speech and opinions, there is nothing wrong to let people know who you think is the best qualified to be president, is what you think and feel, if people are going to stop being fans, friends or whatever then they need to be a little bit more open minded.

    Is just and OPINION!!!

  • I don’t care who my favorite celeb is voting for, I’m not interested in their views on politics, the environment, or what deodorant they swipe under their arms. If you can’t bother, (or are too lazy) to read up on the issues, why vote? If you are going to vote for a candidate because the actress in that movie you saw last week says she is supporting Candidate X, well then super for you!

  • I guess she remembers what happened to the Dixie Chicks, and she knows her country music fan base really well.

  • Celebrities should stick to promoting THEMSELVES and the act of voting.

    Not everyone has a strong mind or individuality and these folks CAN be swayed to follow their favorite celebrity (or the complete opposite of their unfavorite celebs).

    I applaud her comment and I appreciate it very much. Much like Mr. Bob Ritchie said in October:

    He tells CMT Insider, “I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics. Because at the end of the day, I’m good at writing songs and singing. What I’m not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for … I think would be very irresponsible on my part.”

  • Sounds like she’s voting for McCain… or ashamed of whoever it is?

    It’s so lame for her to say she ‘loses’ all respect for those voicing their opinions. I think it’s a personal decision, but the more information that gets out there, the better! Celebrities are getting people interested, making them want to get informed and do their own research in many cases, and I really RESPECT that!

  • I absolutely agree with her! I think they should stick to their job and not get involved with politics. I think it’s the manner that most celebrities go about it. Very blatantly and obnoxious, like what ever they feel is the only way.

  • This makes no sense at all. If a person feels passionately about any issue or candidate, and they are in a position to make their voice heard, why in the hell would they stay quiet?? Lots of people from all walks of life speak about the candidate and the issues hoping to influence others. That’s all a part of how democracy and campaigning works.

    I’m fine with her not making a declaration but there is no reason for her to ‘lose all respect’ for people who choose to back a candidate.

  • I’ve always found the whole celebrities choosing someone to back PUBLICLY quite bizarre. Although the majority of people wouldn’t be influenced by their favourite celebrities choices, some others may be. That being so, I’m of the belief that celebrities shouldn’t make their choices so public and so frequently voicing them.

    # lau_ren Says:
    November 4th, 2008 at 11:20 am

    i agree. steve carell made a similar comment:
    http://andrewbuttaro.blogspot.com/2008/06/steve-carell-gets-smart-with-politics.html

    Steve Carell is awesome! :)

  • P.S I am sort of in conflict about my own opinion about celebrities voicing their opinions so often in elections. I’m never concerned when they are voicing their opinions about tragedies that happen in the world and that could be influential to people too. I think it’s more that voting is so important in an individual way, that I feel people who are voting should be as free from others’ influence as they can be. Vote for who YOU honestly believe in. Right? Not to say that people don’t. Okay, I’ll stop here.

  • I don’t agree at all. It’s a personal choice to back a candidate, she’s talking about it like they were raping animals or something. Lose all respect? That’s ridiculous. Of course they try to influence people, it could change the whole world! No difference from standing up for something else though – like animal rights, all the “rather naked than fur”. Should you keep all your opinions closeted, according to Carrie? I think she’s republican and wee bit ashamed of it.

  • I think the reason why some people may agree with what she is saying is because celebrities will always be celebrities, regardless of who goes into office.

    Healthcare, Social Security, The war in Iraq, Housing Crisis, Banks closing, paying for school….sorry to say, but none of these issues apply to celebrities. The only people that are buying houses are rich, rich people because they can afford it.

    So when I hear a celebrity saying “What about our children? We should do what’s best for them!” I can’t help but scoff and roll my eyes because fact of the matter is, in 15 years I will be trying my hardest to send my child to school and pay my mortgage, but Leonardo DiCaprio will be sending his child to a $40,000 grade school and the thought of not being able to afford healthcare would be something of a joke.

    The people who are worried about this election are people who it will affect. Not saying they cannot have an opinion, but there is a fine line of stating who you want to vote for and proclaiming it from the mountain tops in leu of music videos, national programs, and every magazine under the earth.

  • omg. celebrities finally realize that we don’t care what they think, we just want them to entertian us. why must they all think that they are the expert on politics, when they all live in their little bubble of money and privilage. they have no idea what is good for the american people. i love carrie!

  • Ps,

    When it comes to Props, for sure opinions are important. To say that Proposition 8 will not affect celebrities is stupid. You can be gay, whether you are rich or poor. And you can campaign for animal rights, all of that is fine.

  • This coming from a public endorser of PETA? IS she saying that we are not smart enough to make decisions about animal welfare? They are an extremist “animal rights” group. Which is backing California prop 2? They are obviously a politically active group and she put her name with that ticket. California: VOTE NO ON PROP 2. Lets keep our food SAFE, AFFORDABLE and LOCAL.

  • @ yum – that move made me respect the Dixie Chicks! I never really liked their music, but the fact that they risked criticism for something more important says alot. Carrie just made herself appear selfish and without conviction in my eyes. Who needs her.

  • It’s ignorant of HER to think that anyone would vote for a candidate just because she endorses them.

  • At first glance I was thinking ok bitch.. you don’t want to speak your mind in case ::gasp:: a fan doesn’t agree and won’t buy your next album.. but then it hit me that she is actually right to a (small) point. BUT if you strongly believe in your choice why wouldn’t you WANT to voice it so people DO vote for them! If they’re that much of a puppet just to follow you, then oh well.. they weren’t gonna make their own opinion ANYWAY cuz they’re only working with half a brain. But whatever.. it’s not the dumbest thing I’ve heard today, but far from the smartest.

  • definitely disagree. that’s sort of a stupid thing to say. anyone can express his opinion, whether he is a celebrity or not. just because someone is famous and publicly supporting a candidate, doesn’t mean that he expects his fans to all agree with him. celebrities are just using what they can to help support their favorite candidates.

  • I bet you ANYTHING she’s voting for Obama, and that’s why she’s keeping it to herself, cuz im sure most of her lil country fans are McCain supporters… and she’s not trying to bomb her career. i think that’s weak. If I’m right, then she SHOULD say she’s supporting him, and maybe open some of her fans eyes to actually LISTEN to the facts instead of going with what everyone in their town is going with. And if she’s voting for McCain, all anyone would say is “um…. DUH?”… so nevermind what i just said before.. that was one of the dumbest things ive heard today…

  • So celebrities should be disenfranchised because of their profession? How ridiculous. I have seen pictures of Carrie wearing a PETA t-shirt. Somehow I imagine that her “preferred candidate” would not be especially popular with her demographic.

  • She’s RIIIIIIGht!! All the lemmings in Hollywood are saying the same thing. So trendy… so vacant. They sound silly to me because they don’t care about the country–they care about being popular and getting millions ($$$movies). What they say means squat to me. They are in the selling business and they want what sells, gets attention–therefore Obama fits their style. Not surprised.

  • BippityBoppityBoop…yet again…GREATLY appreciated. Also, I’m aware that LOOSE is correctly spelled; however, it is being used in the wrong context. You would LOSE fans, as opposed to a pair of pants being LOOSE. I’m going to take that New Yorker comment as a compliment. Thanks!

  • okay i get why she’s not publicly choosing anyone, and i think thats a good thing, but that was the worst excuse to give… cause she doesnt want people following her? as if anyone is going to base their choice on what carrie underwood thinks!

  • So, a lot of people are saying they don’t believe the general masses are influenced by what celebrities say? What about do or wear? Of course people are influenced by their idols, that is why they are paid so much money to endorse all the bullshit. Surely, upstanding Mensa members such as ourselves wouldn’t fall for their lies, but you are pretty silly to say that most don’t.

    Hell, if we weren’t completely infatuated with every aspect of our celebrity culture, beet wouldn’t have a job.

  • Im glad that she had the *balls* to say that, Steve Carrel too! We all have our opinions and right to voice them or not. I grew up with the respect that our right to vote should be a private thing. Why do you think they have the curtains up at the polls? Its a private thing. Why not keep it that way?

  • I agree with the concept of what she is saying; but not the way she said it. Everyone has the right to support a candidate and volunteer to support their campaign in whatever way they can help. I have no problem with celebrities appearing with candidates or honestly answering questions about who they support. I even admire the celebrities who get down and do the grunt work with the rest of us non-celebs like working the phones banks and going door to door. I do lose respect for the celebs who are so obnoxious in their actions (regardless of which candidate they support) just to boost their own ratings (that includes ALL of the ladies on The View), shamelessly promote themselves (like Heidi and Spencer with their ridiculous gun-toting photo ops) and embarrassing themselves with blustering claims that they’ll move out of the country if their candidate doesn’t win (yet never follow through)!! If you love your country you should remain loyal to it whether you approve of the President or not and channel your energy towards promoting change with every election, not just during Presidential election years! Regardless of who wins, I plan to continue working to raise awareness about the causes that are important to me (and MILLIONS of other Americans) as there are elections EVERY YEAR at local or state levels, and as we know, a landmark victory in even one state can lead to victories in others! Phew….patriotic rant is over now…sorry! (blushing)

  • I’m so glad that so many people think that a celebrity’s opinion doesn’t matter. I tried to argue that very point last night, and people didn’t believe me. Celebrities think that their opinion will be influential on the 18-24ish bracket, but I think that when it comes to that age range that either it’s educated adults making an educated, personally opinionated decision, or they just don’t care and aren’t voting. I don’t think many celebrities have as much influence as they’d like to think they do.

  • I definitely agree with this. I lose respect for celebrities that publicly support their candidate. People can be too influenced by celebrities, and may not make decisions truly for themselves if all of their favorite celebs are supporting one person. These people aren’t the kind of people you take political advice from. You don’t even know them. And most of them are terrible people. These are the people you take advice about what kind of perfume to wear, not what presidential candidate to choose.

  • On a scarier note, the US Magazine site actually has a poll asking “What celeb influenced you the most this election” and there is no “None of the Above” option!!! I believe it is every voter’s responsibility to research the candidates and make their own decision. It is scary to think that the future of our country is partially decided by people who vote for the person that Heidi or Diddy (two of the choices) tells them to!!

  • i completely agree with her! i’m so tired of celebrities thinking they can and should influence the population just because they know they have pull. Influencing our wardrobe is one thing, our political decisions is quite another… not to mention, a very large group of celebrities are not educated past high school (and if they are, often its an acting/drama/film school). This is not to say they don’t have the right to an opinion, but they sure as hell don’t have the right to be telling me how I should be voting.

  • In the day, or so my parents tell me. It used to be that nobody talked about who they voted for. It was a private matter, and people kept their candidates choice to themselves. The exit polls prove people don’t share or at least the truth. Democrats always poll higher.
    I am on overload with every two bit celeb, most who have no education, telling people who to vote for. So I agree. It is our right to hear the issues and decide for ourselves. Really, what do any of these high paid pampered stars know about real life anyway. Half of them can’t choose the right partner, how can they tell us who to vote for. lol

  • i agree with carrie. it shouldn’t matter who celebrity votes for especially when stupid mindless celebrities come forward and say i’m gonna be voting for who ever. its different if they come out and actually talk about the issues at hand but generally they don’t they just say who they gonna vote for.

  • Um her opinion has NOTHING to do with who she supports. I agree with her. I dislike the fact that these “celebrities” are all over endorsing a political candidate and telling people what they should do. They look completely obnoxious and stupid when they do it. The unfortunate thing is that there are “people” out there who are very easily influenced (those who don’t exactly have a great level of intelligence). I just hope they don’t succumb to that celebrity bullshit and vote for someone they don’t agree with… or don’t even know about..

  • I agree with carrie. Celebrities have no place trying to sway the way their fans vote. Just because you can act doesn’t make you a politician.

  • Does anyone know what a celebrity endorsement is? If you have any sense at all, you will realize how effective a marketing strategy it is. If it wasn’t, mega corporations would not use them half as much as they do now. They just go to PROVE that a celebrity can sway public opinion on anything. And no, Carrie Underwood does not need to insinuate anything about people being idiots, IT IS A FACT! Why else would so much effort be put into simply URGING people to get off their asses and VOTE. She is one of the few who realize that people are so easily influenced by third parties.
    Be honest.Do the people who voted for Obama even understand his policies?!

    This is meant purely for the purposes of self-reflection, not an onslaught of opposition.

  • Celebs are people too, they have opinions as well(obviously) and just as I may go door to door endorsing a candidate why should they silenced? At most hopefully it encourages people to get out and vote. If people don’t have minds of their own that’s on them and YES OLLIE I do understand his policies!

  • @ Megan,

    I disagree. The American public, as a whole, is not very intelligent. You may not be giving yourself enough credit for being able to think for yourself. If the American public weren’t more impressionable than you believe, then we wouldn’t have women trying to get that D cup, Restalyne/Botox, lifts, tucks, or suctions the way we do. We wouldn’t have women trying to lose their pregnancy weight in 3 months like the stars can, and sometimes do. Some individuals are more than capable of making their own decisions. Others, the majority, it seems, don’t want to exert the effort, and that’s a sad thing.

  • I kind of have to agree with Chuck, although that is a pretty broad brush stroke. But they are alot of people out there that are perfectly content living in their own little bubble and don’t want to bother thinking for themselves. That would mean doing some soul searching. It’s very sad.

  • Actually, I do base my voting decisions on the opinions of celebrities. For any candidate or initiative that Alec Baldwin, Barbara Streisand, Rosie O’Donnell, or Joy Behar supports, I vote the opposite of them.

  • Yeah, you’re actually INFLUENTIAL, Carrie. Whatever makes you sleep at night. In related news, 75% of America can’t name ONE song she’s ever sang…