Last year we heard about “President Agent Orange” from A Tribe Called Quest, and this year we saw the Grammys take it up a notch with a dramatic “Fire and Fury” reading from Hillary Clinton. Award shows have always been political, but since the 2016 election they seem to have become even more so. And with the polarization their remarks cause, the increasing concern is: Are award shows becoming too politically involved, and should the celebrities just stay out of it?
The answer that immediately comes to my mind is no, of course not. Those with platforms should use them, but use them well. The problem comes from the pointed, somewhat aggressive political remarks which only create divisiveness; they don’t make the bridges for conversation that we need the most.
Sunday night we saw possibly the most politically charged award show yet – with Kendrick Lamar setting the tone for the entire night in his opening performance, which he entitled “This is a satire.” Featuring the American flag, black soldiers who end up being gunned down and appearances from U2 and Dave Chappelle, Lamar’s performance was one of the most memorable of the night. And for those who didn’t fully understand his intent, Chappelle laid it out clearly for them.
“I just wanted to remind the audience that the only thing more frightening than watching a black man be honest in America is being an honest black man in America,” he said. “It looks like he’s singing and dancing; this brother’s taking enormous chances.”
But even with his charged intent, Lamar’s performance was far from being the most overtly political message. It actually wasn’t even the first one made – singer Joy Villa can take the credit for that. Known for her fashion risks on the Grammys red carpet, Villa stole the light last year by wearing a “Make America Great Again” flag as a dress. This year, she came back with a new message. Villa’s white gown had a hand-painted fetus at the bottom and her purse was painted with the words “Choose Life.”
"I'm a pro-life woman,” she told Fox News. “This year I chose to make a statement on the red carpet like I always do."
Villa’s was the only conservative statement seen at the award show, however, and it mainly served as a glimpse into the half of the political spectrum largely left out of award shows. And her statement was even still dimmed by the white roses that took over the red-carpet fashion of the night in support of the Time’s Up movement.
The conservative perspective, though, is an important look into why award show ratings seem to drop as the political content goes up. A large part of award shows’ audiences are Republican, and they do agree with Trump’s policies. And they don’t appreciate the intentional — at times hostile — remarks consistently made about him. But with that said, and while award show hosts can do with a few less presidential jokes, the audience should also stay considerate.
The moment at this year’s Grammys most seemed to have problems with was the pretend audition for a spoken word album of “Fire and Fury,” the controversial tell-all book about the Trump administration. Host James Corden organized for various celebrities, including Cardi B, Snoop Dogg and most notably, Hillary Clinton, to read excerpts from the book. This bit received a lot of backfire from conservative politicians, including a tweet from Trump's ambassador to the UN and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
“I have always loved the Grammys but to have artists read the Fire and Fury book killed it. Don’t ruin great music with trash,” she said. “Some of us love music without the politics thrown in it.”
Sure, she makes a good point that an audience should be able to enjoy music’s biggest night without having their beliefs attacked, but she invites criticism, not reform, by calling the video segment trash and adopting an aggressive tone towards the award show.
It really all comes down to the intent of the statement – some, such as the white roses displayed last night, or wearing black at the Golden Globes, are meant to be a display of unity and togetherness. Others, such as the pointed remarks by some celebrities at the show and Haley’s tweet, are meant to divide. And as a country that has already seen the damage of political division, I would say we don’t need any more of it. The barbed jokes only lead to unnecessary social media posts and argument. Celebrities should continue to show efforts for unity, but the hate-filled comments should stop. We need to show that united messages make more pathways than divisive ones.