Taylor Swift and Beyoncé set the music world on fire in 2023 with massive, globe-spanning tours, and their influence seeped into the world of politics as lawmakers and other political figures named-checked them.
Here are a few of the most noteworthy moments in which the worlds of politics and pop culture converged over the last year.
Jason Aldean and “Try That in a Small Town”
Jason Aldean performs during CMA Fest 2022 on Thursday, June 9, 2022, at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Country singer Jason Aldean’s song “Try That in a Small Town” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in July despite heavy controversy.
The song faced backlash for both its lyrics, which include lines like, “Cuss out a cop, spit in his face, Stomp on the flag and light it up, Yeah, ya think you’re tough, Well, try that in a small town, See how far ya make it down the road,” and its music video.
The video was filmed in front of a Tennessee courthouse where a Black man was lynched in the 1920s. Country Music Television (CMT) pulled the music video, drawing a negative reaction from Aldean himself on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
“In the past 24 hours I have been accused of releasing a pro-lynching song (a song that has been out since May) and was subject to the comparison that I (direct quote) was not too pleased with the nationwide BLM protests. These references are not only meritless, but dangerous,” Aldean said.
Republicans like former President Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) came to Aldean’s defense amid the controversy.
“Jason Aldean is a fantastic guy who just came out with a great new song. Support Jason all the way. MAGA!!!” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
Beyoncé gets honored on the House floor
Beyonce performs at a Get Out the Vote concert for Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, Nov. 4, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
The “Formation” singer, who has had a packed year with “The Renaissance World Tour” and the release of a film of that tour, was honored in March on the House floor by Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif).
“I rise today to commemorate the end of Black History Month and the beginning of Women’s History Month by honoring an individual who represents both so well,” Garcia said.
“She’s an icon, she’s a legend, and she’s now and forever the moment,” he added.
Garcia also referred to the “Alien Superstar” herself as a role model who “stood up for voting rights, for feminism, for women and girls, for my community — the LGBTQ+ community.”
“For my generation and so many others, she simply is the greatest of all time,” he continued.
RuPaul and anti-drag queen bills
RuPaul helps present the Emmy for outstanding limited or anthology series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The self-proclaimed “queen of drag” had some thoughts on recent anti-drag show legislation that he shared back in March.
In a video on Instagram, the “RuPaul’s Drag Race” host said that bills aimed at drag performances were a tactic to distract from more important issues.
“Hey, look over there! A classic distraction technique — distracting us away from the real issues that they were voted into office to focus on: jobs, health care, keeping our children safe from harm at their own school,” RuPaul said.
“But we know that bullies are incompetent at solving real issues,” the host continued.
“They look for easy targets so they can give the impression of being effective,” he said.
Dylan Mulvaney and the Bud Light backlash
Dylan Mulvaney in New York City on March 3, 2023 (left). A can of Bud Light beer is seen on Tuesday, April 25, 2023, in Philadelphia (right) (Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images/AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney partnered with Anheuser-Busch in April for an advertisement that included her posing with a personalized Bud Light can, which drew negative reactions from conservatives.
Critics called for protests against Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch, while Anheuser-Busch also faced criticism from those who thought it did not fully support Mulvaney.
Singer Kid Rock shot multiple cases of Bud Light with what appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle in an Instagram video.
“F— Bud Light and f— Anheuser-Busch,” he said in the video.
“I’ve been offline for a few weeks, and a lot has been said about me,” Mulvaney said in a video on Instagram and TikTok a few weeks after the backlash. “It was so loud that I didn’t even feel part of the conversation. So, I decided to take the back seat and let them tucker themselves out.”
“But then I remembered that nearly 13 million people at some point enjoyed me enough to hit the follow button on these apps. And I was like wait, wait, wait, I want to talk to those people,” Mulvaney added.
Eminem objects to Vivek Ramaswamy using his music
Eminem. (Getty)
In August, rapper Eminem asked entrepreneur and 2024 GOP presidential primary candidate Vivek Ramaswamy to stop using his music on the campaign trail through his music licensor, Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI).
The letter from BMI revealed that Ramaswamy’s campaign and BMI had a previous music licensing agreement for the Detroit rapper’s music and came after Ramaswamy sang along to “Lose Yourself” at the Iowa State Fair earlier in August.
“To the American people’s chagrin, we will have to leave the rapping to the real slim shady,” a Ramaswamy campaign statement said.
Taylor Swift bests Trump, Biden on net favorability
Taylor Swift performs during “The Eras Tour,” Monday, Aug. 7, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
This year was the year of Taylor Swift, quite literally, as she was recently named Time magazine’s “Person of the Year.”
In a recent NBC News poll, the pop sensation topped a list of celebrities when it comes to net favorability, besting political figures including President Biden, Vice President Harris, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Trump.
Forty percent of registered voters in the poll said that they have a positive view of the millennial icon.
Kim Kardashian makes a plea to Biden
Kim Kardashian. (EvanAgostini/Invision/AP)
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian, alongside Eric Esrailian, a physician and producer, urged the president to “stop the Armenian genocide” in a September Rolling Stone opinion piece.
“We are Armenian,” the piece read. “We are the descendants of Armenian Genocide survivors, and we do not want to be talking about the recognition or commemoration of yet another genocide in the future.”
Esrailian and Kardashian characterized Azerbaijan’s government as using “starvation as a weapon against the Armenian population” via blockading “the only lifeline between the indigenous Christian Armenians of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh) and the rest of the world.”
“Blocking human rights groups, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the hateful rhetoric accompanying the blockade are signs of genocidal intent,” the piece said.
Paramore and Rep. Maxwell Frost
Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.). (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)
In June, Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) attended a concert for the pop-rock band Paramore and had a few choice words for his state’s governor, Ron DeSantis (R).
While at the concert in Washington, D.C., Frost was caught on video on stage yelling “f— Ron DeSantis” and “f— facism.”
He later retweeted the video, saying that he “said what I said.”
When Frost came on stage, the band’s lead singer, Hayley Williams, lauded the young House member, who is the first member of his generation in Congress.
“Do you see this? Do you see the future right here?” Williams said.
Jimmy Kimmel pranks ex-Rep. Santos
Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) holds a press conference in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, November 30, 2023.
Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel decided to have a bit of fun with embattled former House member Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) after his ouster.
Santos started selling personal videos on the platform Cameo after he was expelled from the House earlier this month. Kimmel told his show audience that he had ordered videos with prank scripts for Santos to read.
“George please congratulate my friend Gary Fortuna for winning the Clearwater Florida beef eating contest. He ate over six pounds of ground beef in under 30 minutes – which was a new record!” Kimmel wrote in one prank script. “He’s not feeling great right now, but the doctor thinks he will be released from the hospital soon. Please wish him a speedy recovery!”
Santos responded to the prompt in the Cameo video.
“I know you’re feeling a little under the weather, but I hear from a great source that the doctors said you’ll be released from the hospital soon and recover well,” Santos said in a video. “Look, have a speedy recovery, and then enjoy the festivities of the end of the year. Bye.”
Maren Morris says she’s leaving country music
Maren Morris arrives at the world premiere of the concert film “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, at AMC The Grove 14 in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
Singer Maren Morris announced in September she would step out of the country genre as a result of the “the Trump years” and their effect on the style of music.
“After the Trump years, people’s biases were on full display,” Morris said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. “It just revealed who people really were and that they were proud to be misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic.”
Morris also referenced “Try That in a Small Town” and its popularity with conservatives, saying, “People are streaming these songs out of spite.”
“It’s not out of true joy or love of the music. It’s to own the libs. And that’s so not what music is intended for. Music is supposed to be the voice of the oppressed — the actual oppressed. And now it’s being used as this really toxic weapon in culture wars,” Morris said.
Trump isn’t pleased with Rihanna’s Super Bowl performance
Rihanna attends an event at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles on on Aug. 28, 2021. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
To the excitement of many, superstar and business magnate Rihanna performed at this year’s Super Bowl halftime show.
Former President Trump, who had feuded with the pop star, wasn’t a fan of the “Rude Boy” singer’s performance.
“EPIC FAIL: Rihanna gave, without question, the single worst Halftime Show in Super Bowl history — This after insulting far more than half of our Nation, which is already in serious DECLINE, with her foul and insulting language,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“Also, so much for her ‘Stylist!’” he added.
Trump seemed to reference the “Work” singer’s act of spraypainting a car with the words “F**k Trump” back in 2020. Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) had pointed the incident out earlier in the week on Truth Social.
“Why is the NFL showcasing this crap? Rihanna SHOULD NOT be the halftime performer!!” Jackson wrote.
Paris Hilton’s advocacy work
Paris Hilton is seen in front of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 27, 2023.
Reality television star Paris Hilton made a visit to Capitol Hill in April to push for a bill to regulate “troubled teen” facilities.
Hilton was joined by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) at the Capitol, where they discussed the Stop Institutional Child Abuse Act. The bill has the aim of creating federal data collection and reporting standards for the aforementioned facilities, which Hilton said she was a victim of.
“I witnessed and experienced sexual abuse from adult staff as well as endured verbal and emotional abuse daily. I was yelled at, dehumanized, silenced and stripped of any semblance of privacy,” she said.
“When I attempted to tell my parents about the abuse on the phone, staff would stop and immediately hang up the phone and punish me. On top of this, you had no access to the outside doors, no sunlight, no fresh air. These were considered privileges. What I went through will haunt me for the rest of my life.”
Kevin Spacey and Tucker Carlson
Actor Kevin Spacey leaves Southwark Crown Court for a lunch break, in London, Monday, July 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Actor Kevin Spacey decided to make an appearance as his character Frank Underwood from the show “House of Cards” in a recent interview on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with ex-Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
The two men discussed their ousters from Netflix and Fox News, as well as the current political environment.
“It is bizarre that they decided to publicly cut ties with me on allegations alone; allegations that have now been proven false because I don’t think there’s any question: Netflix exists because of me,” Spacey said. “I put them on the map. And they tried to put me on the ground.”
Spacey was kicked off the show in 2017 in the wake of facing multiple sexual harassment allegations, even from “House of Cards” crew members.
Judy Blume slams DeSantis
Judy Blume and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (AP Photo/Kathy Willens/John Bazemore)
Author Judy Blume slammed the Florida governor over book bans.
“Teachers are under fire, librarians are threatened,” Blume said at Variety‘s “Power of Women” luncheon in April. “They are criminalizing teachers and librarians. It’s not just that they’re threatening their jobs, they’re threatening them.”
“They could go to jail, all because they stand up for the rights of the students they teach. All because they refuse to give in to fear,” Blume continued. “I’ve known librarians who have saved lives by handing the right book to the right child at the right time. And for that one kid, finding themselves in a book can be a lifesaver.”
The author also referred to DeSantis as “a governor who wants to control everything, starting with what kids can think, what they can know, what they can question, what they can learn, and now even what they can talk about.”