Beyoncé (and her mum) won’t boost Kamala in the voting booth

The truth I’ve learned All Too Well: having Beyoncé or Taylor Swift’s endorsement won’t make any difference, warns David Lister

From Bruce Springsteen to Beyoncé, Leonardo DiCaprio and Harrison Ford to Julia Roberts and Cardi B, globally famous celebs have been coming out for Kamala Harris. Even Beyoncé’s mum got in on the action.

Though the effect in the swing states is uncertain, Usher and Lizzo have also come out for her. The latest to show support, Jennifer Aniston, has more than 44 million followers on Instagram. If fans copied their idols in how they vote, then Harris would be a shoo-in. And yet, she isn’t – not quite yet, despite the polls suggesting otherwise.

Taylor Swift alone, who pledged support on Instagram immediately after the (almost forgotten) debate between Harris and Donald Trump, should have been enough to ensure her success.

Perhaps she declared too early. Perhaps most of her fans aren’t yet old enough to vote. Or perhaps none of this stardust sprinkled on Harris actually makes the slightest difference. Though the celebs (and Harris) refuse to face the fact, voters simply aren’t swayed by star power.

In 2016, virtually the whole of Hollywood came out for Hillary Clinton, not to mention singers like Adele and once more Beyoncé (not sure about her mum that time around). Yet Trump still won.

Those portentous, publicly anticipated declarations of support and affection carry little or no weight, however big the fan base.

And, actually, why should fans of these stars be remotely influenced by their political opinions? We love them because of their talent and charisma, not because of their political acuity. And on neither side of the Atlantic are fans sheep to be led by the nose into the voting booths.

It’s not really as if most of these celebs have any special claim to political argument. Speak to most rock stars and they will tell you that their life on tour consists of hotel rooms and concert stages, with little experience of real life in between. Bob Dylan is a rare exception, walking around every town he visits.

And that leads me to what I think is an interesting contrast: the contrast between today’s celebs who wear their political allegiance on their sleeves – and the older generation of rock gods who kept their political views very much to themselves.

Who knew how The Beatles, the Stones, The Kinks, The Who et al voted? They didn’t tell us. When John Lennon referred on TV to the prime minister of the day as “that nice Mr Wilson”, that was about as far they came to showing any sort of preference. More telling about their political preoccupations was George Harrison’s song “Taxman” which opened The Beatles’s album Revolver. It was an invective against astoundingly high tax rates. Sound familiar?

Even when Lennon in his later years became highly politicised, he chose to advocate for world peace – not for a political party.

When I spoke to Mick Jagger about politics some years ago, Gordon Brown was prime minister and I remember the singer being highly tickled by Brown’s use of the phrase “moral compass”; an instrument Jagger rarely carried about his person. But he gave nothing away about how he might vote.

In the 2016 US election, Trump played The Rolling Stones’s song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” not just at his rallies but after his victory speech (bizarrely oblivious to the irony of the title of the song playing behind him).

The Stones had repeatedly threatened him with legal action about using the song, though whether this was for political or financial reasons, I’m less sure. Jagger himself actually tweeted jokingly: “Maybe they will ask me to sing ‘You Can’t Always Get What You Want’ at the inauguration.’” That didn’t sound like outrage.

Rock stars and Hollywood stars should also ponder on the fact that their legions of fans aren’t all Democrats (though some are). Republican kids and adults in their millions buy music and go to movies. It’s a little shortsighted to alienate them.

Musicians and actors have no special political insight. No special political influence. Far more pertinent is who scientists, environmentalists and educators are supporting. The older generation of rock stars had it right: keep your own counsel.