Country music superstar Kenny Chesney spoke with Bill Maher on Monday about why he personally rejects the idea that celebrities should tell people who to vote for.
On talk show host Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast, Chesney asked the host if he was a fan of rock star Bruce Springsteen, who, like Maher, is from New Jersey.
Maher confirmed that he was a fan, but then regretted that he immediately started thinking about Springsteen in political terms. Springsteen has been one of the most outspoken liberal celebrities in recent years, to the extent that he faced blowback for alienating some of his fans and leading an anti-Trump “No Kings” tour.
Chesney said, “I refused to do it. When I came on your show in November I was very grateful that you knew I didn’t want to talk about it.”
Maher said that he, like his show, is multifaceted, in that he enjoys talking to different people about different topics, and that California Governor Gavin Newsom, as a presidential contender, is a person with whom he can talk more specifically about political matters.
Chesney said about talking about politics publicly, “I never felt like it was my place.”
“It’s not always everyone’s cup of tea,” agreed Maher. “You are right.”
As a celebrity, Chesney said, “I think there’s a certain ego that lives inside your head and your soul and you have to be in check for some reason, to think you can make a difference.”
Maher agreed that celebrities need to keep it in check, poking fun at the ‘you can make a difference by speaking out’ mentality.”
He argued, “I think they’ve really studied it, when celebrities talk I think it has the opposite effect.”
“I agree,” Chesney replied. He later said, “I’ve never seen it to use my stage or platform, no matter where I’m playing, to tell people how to think or how to vote. They just like hear it. They get it everywhere. Everywhere on every device. On every network. They’re there to avoid all those things.”
Maher initially campaigned that musician Taylor Swift could “save democracy” with her endorsement in the 2024 election, but following the defeat of former Vice President Kamala Harris, he has become critical of political rhetoric from celebrities, calling it counterproductive.
During an interview with John Mellencamp in February, Maher said, “Democrats, I mean – for those who didn’t see it – the point of it was, you’ve got to cut your celebrities loose. You think they’re helping, and they’re really hurting, because people don’t look at celebrities in any way that they can relate to their lives, and they can’t in any way.”
“The other funny thing is, you know, most people, you know… we don’t know anything. You know, we don’t know anything,” Mellencamp said. “We don’t know what’s really going on. We don’t know, you know, and it’s always been that way since I can remember.”
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