From a business aspect, it makes sense why superstar musicians and actors avoid political conversations. To make sure their brand appeals to everyone, these actors and musicians don't want to alienate any potential album sales or streams by saying anything controversial. That's why Taylor Swift and Garth Brooks and Bruno Mars kept silent during 2016's divisive presidential election. Yeah, it's a bummer these influential people didn't speak out during a pivotal time in America's history, but they just wanna make money!
That's what makes Harry Styles' appearance on The Late Late Show on Tuesday so surprising. He actually made a Trump joke.
In terms of global, universal superstardom, Styles is on par with Swift, Brooks, and Mars. He's probably the most ideal model of male pop star we have in 2017, a former uber-famous boy band member who just went solo with his own album. And that album is a harmless, yet pretty collection of nostalgia-driven classic rock songs that harken back to days when a man played a guitar and lusted about women in dingy hotel rooms. There are no statements, no grand rumination on society or politics or culture. Besides some PG themes, it's as safe as Taylor Swift's 1989.
Yet, even though he could have avoided politics his entire career and gotten away with it, he made this joke while doing James Corden's monologue last night: "Let's do what we do every night and talk about the news," Styles said. "Of course, the big story today is that Donald Trump shared secret information with the Russians last week. The good news for Trump is that he's been named Employee of the Month by Russia."
Of course he's just reading Corden's script, but someone like Swift would never go near material like that. He also joked about Hillary Clinton, but even this joke took a liberal slant: "Here's another story we've all been talking about around the office: Hillary Clinton is forming a group called Onward Together, a political organization that is anti-Trump," Styles said. "Experts are calling it bold, ambitious, and six months too late."
These are topics that didn't once come up in an entire Rolling Stone cover story about his coming of age and new direction. Even when doing interviews about his seemingly "political" song "Sign of the Times" Styles refused to go into any sort of depth, saying it was about "just the state of the world at the moment."
Yet here he is specifically naming names and taking a side. Good for Styles for even mildly showing some humanity, some morality, and using his status to really make a statement on these troubling times.
