Dejection and dismay: Celebrity reactions to Kamala Harris losing the election
Later tonight, Vice President Kamala Harris will deliver a speech conceding defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 US presidential elections.
Unlike today’s winner, it will signify Harris’ willingness to accept the results of a democratic process that has seen the American people re-elect Trump to the White House with an – at the time of writing – confirmed 277 electoral college votes and seemingly the popular vote.
As America woke up to the news that Trump will soon once again be the president, more figures from the entertainment world have weighed in on their feelings about the situation.
Harris’ campaign regularly featured endorsements from across the entertainment industry. Many of those same names have now expressed their disappointment that she and the Democrats have lost the races for the presidency, the senate, the governor, and likely the house.
Horror author Stephen King made a lament for the state of America. Writing on X, he said: “There's a sign you can see in many shops that sell beautiful but fragile items: LOVELY TO LOOK AT, DELIGHTFUL TO HOLD, BUT ONCE YOU BREAK IT, THEN IT'S SOLD."
“You can say the same about democracy,” King added.
Oscar-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis, who has strongly advocated for LGBTQ+ rights, shared a lengthy statement on social media about the potential impact of the election results on minorities and women.
“It means a sure return to a more restrictive, some fear draconian time. Many fear their rights will be impeded and denied. Many, minority groups and young people will be afraid. Gay and trans people will be more afraid. We know that many women will now find it difficult to get the reproductive healthcare that they need and deserve. For all those people there will be those who will help you. Me included.”
“But what it really means is that we wake up and fight. Fight for women and our children and their futures and fight against tyranny, one day at a time. One fight at a time. One protest at a time. That's what it means to be an American. That's what it has always meant and will always mean regardless of the outcome,” the Everything Everywhere All At Once actor wrote.
“Be gentle with people today. Be gentle with yourself today. Feel your feelings today but most of all.....Be an American today.”
On American TV talk show ‘The View’, hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Sara Haines, Sunny Hostin, Ana Navarro, Joy Behar and Alyssa Farah Griffin reacted to the situation. “He’s the president. I’m still not going to say his name. That’s not going to change,” Goldberg, who has long been at odds with Donald Trump, said.
“I’m profoundly disturbed,” Hostin said, questioning that while in 2016 they didn’t know what a Trump term would be like, “we know now. We know now he will have almost unfettered power. I worry not about myself actually. I don’t worry about my station in life. I worry about the working class. I worry about my mother, a retired teacher. I worry about our elderly and their social security and medicare. I worry about my children’s future, especially my daughter who has less rights than I had.”
Musician Ethel Cain was unequivocal about her fury on seeing the results. “If you voted for Trump, I hope that peace never finds you. Instead, I hope clarity strikes you someday like a clap of lightning and you have to live the rest of your life with the knowledge and guilt of what you've done and who you are as a person,” she wrote in a note published to X.
Character actor Wendell Pierce, famous for his role in ‘The Wire’, which depicted the trials of American urban life, gave a firm warning for what the future holds. “Elections have consequences. The Supreme Court will be changed for a generation. I’ll never see a moderate court again in my lifetime. Alito and Thomas will step down and Trump will appoint 40 year old partisans to the bench. The damage he is about to inflict on our institutions the next two years will be irreparable.”
In a snappier retort to the controversy that shrouded the 2020 elections, talk show host Andy Cohen wrote “so the election ISN’T rigged????”
Yesterday