As anyone who is alive and well on the internet knows, Lollapalooza blew through this past weekend, with Tate McRae closing out the four-day Chicago music festival by bathing in a tub of gold paint on stage. But her performance (and Britney Spears-inspired outfit) was overshadowed by something far less celebratory: A Vanity Fair profile that had been released the day before, in which McRae defended herself from MAGA-association accusations that arose from her collaboration with country singer Morgan Wallen and alleged relationship with hockey player Jack Hughes. The 23-year-old is far from the first pop star to have politically-coded rumors swirling around her, but she is the latest in what has been a noticeable pattern of female celebrities being grilled for their affiliations while their male peers are not.
Do Female Pop Stars Owe Us a Political Stance?
We’re not asking guys for theirs
If any pop princess were to be the poster child for this double standard, it’s Taylor Swift. Since her debut nearly 20 years ago, the “Love Story” singer has been called an “Aryan Goddess” by the far right and, more recently, has been questioned about her political leanings because of her friendship with the right-wing-adjacent Brittany Mahomes. Simultaneously, Swift has expressed her liberal ideals (in 2020’s Miss Americana documentary), campaigned for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election…and then was promptly criticized when she didn’t speak out against her music being used in a hype video for the president.
The implication seems to be that in order to be a relevant, moral female celebrity, you need to constantly beat the drum of your beliefs. Think: Olivia Rodrigo’s upcoming music festival, Daisy Chain Fields, which will send its proceeds to organizations serving women and girls. Or Sabrina Carpenter, who vocally condemned the use of her music in an ICE social media video.
In the Vanity Fair interview, McRae skirted the topic, telling the outlet, “I like to say my piece through organizations I support and the environment that I have on tour.” (VF noted her tour supported LGBTQ+ charity The Trevor Project and Global Fund for Women.) “I think it’s pretty obvious what kind of person I am and the things I support. And I hope that my fans can see that through the things that I’m putting my energy towards.”
McRae’s story echoes the backlash actress Sydney Sweeney received after voting records revealed she was registered as a Republican in Florida, earning her the sobriquet “MAGA Barbie.” This was followed by her highly controversial American Eagle ad for “great jeans,” which many believed was a play on “great genes,” with a pro-eugenics message. Publicly, Sweeney has refused to enter the political fray, which as it did with McRae, only further fueled the flames. “It’s literally giving…Nazi propaganda,” one person commented on a TikTok reaction video.
The implication seems to be that in order to be a relevant, moral female celebrity, you need to constantly beat the drum of your beliefs.
To some extent, I think this criticism of apolitical celebs fair: They are public figures, influential people who, if they have strong opinions, can mobilize voters and educate (or miseducate) younger audiences. But I also think demanding such activism of young women often comes from a place of gendered double standards.
After all, I have yet to see Timothée Chalamet, Jacob Elordi, Paul Mescal or Tom Holland grilled about their politics. (And, yes, their nationality is irrelevant, because McRae is Canadian and still up for public debate.) Though Chalamet was lightly pressed about his Woody Allen affiliation following the latter’s disgrace during the #MeToo movement (he starred in the director’s 2019 film, A Rainy Day in New York); he sidestepped the questions and all was quickly brushed aside. Nothing follows him now, while accusations stick to his female peers. Why aren’t we asking Texas poster boys Matthew McConaughey and Glen Powell—the latter of whom has said he’s “not a political person” and the former known for being “vague”—about their MAGA stance?
Well, it might have something to do with the fact that that men often get a free pass, whereas women have their beauty equated with their morality; to be morally good means standing up for what you believe in. And if you don’t stand for anything? Well then you, pretty lady, are very, very bad. Or maybe it’s simply that we like to criticize famous women more than men, period. We like to pit them against each other as Madonnas or whores, as conversative gun-toters or bleeding liberals.
Either way, it’s unfair to demand a “correct” political stance from female celebrities while their male counterparts float through the media circuit free to simply talk about their art. If a woman wants to talk politics, great. Otherwise, let’s leave her alone and get the guys on the mic.
