No shortage of opinionated celebrities these days, what with the US Presidential race bringing out every aspiring Schwarzenegger in Hollywood and plenty of others to boot. Only last week Scarlett Johansson confused those of us who believed Romney to be the only Mormon in the race; in declaring herself engaged to Barack Obama she both brought new meaning to the words "White House Intern" and posed an important question to twenty-first century politicos: if we can't believe what the celebrities say, how can we trust the candidates they endorse?
This shouldn't, however, be too much of a problem for the Republicans, who have by and large plumped for monsyllabic tough-guys as mascots.
Ageing action man John McCain's found a match made in heaven with Sly Stallone, while Mitt Romney is backed by Pat Boone and Mike Huckabee now describes his border policy "in two words:Chuck and Norris." Rudy Giuliani is the exception, garnering a grand total of zero glitzy endorsements (And a good thing too, say aides - endorsements are, like, soooo latte-drinking liberal circa 2004).
But it's not just actors getting in on the opinion game - the corridors of rock and roll are filling up with hazy views as well. Last week Blur bassist-cum-cheese-bore Alex James appeared on the BBC's Question Time, espousing the evils of hard drugs. So inarticulate was his performance, that Channel 4 has begun promoting it on their website. Not that he's bothered, of course; anyone who happened upon Panorama last night would have been treated to a repeat performance ("No one can control the effects of cocaine, man. No one').
Far and away the industry's standout performance, however, must be that given by Kid Rock to New York Magazine. When asked to comment on the state of the Union, the man behind Naked Women and Beer responded evasively: "There are too many left-wing freaks and there are too many right-wing freaks. The voice of this country is the middle voice, and that is not being heard." Less ambiguous was his take on the Middle East, which saw his weight thrown firmly behind Israel. "They'll unload on anybody," argues Mr Rock. "Fuck with us? We'll fuck you up. That's my motto in life. Be nice to everybody, but if somebody fucks with you, fuck them up."
Indeed.
(Photo: Reuters)
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