Hollywood Has Learned Nothing From Presidential Election Results

The entertainment industry mobilized its efforts leading into the 2024 presidential election to get Vice President Kamala Harris elected. A litany of celebrity endorsements rolled in for Kamala; Taylor Swift, Harrison Ford, Ben Stiller, Mark Hamill, Cardi B, Beyonce, just to name a few. Harris lost in a blowout to President-elect Donald Trump anyway. 

In a sane industry filled with rational people, this would be a cause for reflection. They might wonder something like, "why did the American people so resoundingly reject our message?" Or, "should we be worried about the importance of our industry moving forward considering our politics are so radically different from a majority of the population?" Maybe even, "Oh no, men aged 18-29 overwhelmingly voted for Donald Trump, and they are the most consistent movie-going audience. We need to get our act together to appeal to that demographic."

But nope. 

Instead, the entertainment industry is doubling down, with reactions ranging from dismissal to outright defiance. With an overarching messaging being, "we need to try even harder to get our unpopular message across."

It's not going to work.

FNEW YORK, NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 8: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce attend the men's final on day fourteen of the 2024 US Open Tennis Championships at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center on September 8, 2024 in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York City. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/GC Images)

Donald Trump's Election Should Set Off Warning Bells

Variety reported on the election results from the American Film Marketing meeting in Las Vegas, where industry executives from across the globe gathered to discuss film sales and promotion. The quotes from attendees range from hilarious to devastating.

"You can now say you were in Vegas when the biggest wild card brought U.S. democracy to a screeching halt," one visitor said, according to Variety. They then described a "somber mood" across the event, with "What the f***" reportedly being a common turn of phrase.

Instead of learning from these results, Variety also reported that the industry is proudly ready to learn zero lessons from it.

"Despite Republicans winning the election and the Senate, there’s a sense that Hollywood and the rest of the predominantly left-leaning entertainment industry won’t give up on advocating for social justice and progressive ideals," the article reads.

"Cultural change doesn’t just come from laws and regulations," relayed one studio head. "Media and entertainment are one of the most powerful forces in establishing the status quo and what we look to for societal norms. In a precarious time, where a bigoted hate-monger is in a position to make laws, media has a powerful responsibility to put forward messages of equality, representation, and acceptance."

He continued: "We must seek to how to normalize many of the social issues he used to divide us so this doesn’t happen again."

It doesn't get much dumber than that.

This election is a resounding argument against the very identity politics and "social justice" messaging that Hollywood has made central to its films. Nearly 75 million people, if not more, are saying that they aren't buying what the entertainment industry is selling.

Box office receipts and other telltale signs are pointing to Hollywood continuing to lose influence, power, and money. The best way to counteract that, they believe, is to alienate people even more. Smart business. 

From Jimmy Kimmel crying, to Stephen Colbert's funeral-esque show, to the meltdowns on social media from figures like Bette Midler, it's clear that entertainment personalities will continue to disconnect themselves from reality. Several talent agencies closed for election day, then sent out condolence messages to their employees afterward. Clearly, they're intent on moving further into their ideological bubbles and shove unpopular, divisive, inaccurate messages into projects where they don't belong. Then act bewildered when they fail spectacularly at the box office.

They deserve what they're going to get; more projects like Disney's "The Acoylte," a show explicitly designed to push progressive ideology. That no one watched. You reap what you sow. Hollywood's about to find that out even more.