Which celebrities make the most money and get the most interviews and other attention from the media? Nearly all of them are liberal Democrats. At least according to a new list by Forbes, called “the Celebrity 100 [1].”
Forbes explained how they rank the celebrities: “We factor in celebrity earnings over the last 12 months, but we also tally how often each celebrity is mentioned in print and on TV, and gauge the strength of their Internet presence and how they’re viewed by a critical constituency: American consumers.” In other words, how much love they get from the media also translates to how popular they are with the public. Unsurprisingly, conservatives got little love, not making even a tenth of total list.
In fact there were no conservatives at all in the top 30 on the list. Only six professed conservatives made the list, including three talk radio hosts or Fox News commentators. There were nine times as many liberals (54).
Who did make the list? Of the 100 celebrities, which included actors, directors, radio and TV hosts, reality shows stars, athletes and musicians, more than half were outspoken liberals, many of whom have donated millions of dollars to Democratic politicians, left-wing organizations and campaigns, according to Opensecrets.org.
Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Steven Spielberg, Beyonce Knowles, and Madonna took the top five spots. All five have been outspoken liberal activists and have made large financial donations to Obama presidential campaigns.
Oprah, who ranked No. 1, is a personal friend of the Obamas, who had attended White House functions and actively campaigned for the President in 2008. Spielberg, like Oprah, is also a personal friend of the Obamas and has donated millions to Obama and the Democratic Party. Lady Gaga has performed at the White House, and is known for her extremely liberal social activism, especially on gay issues. Madonna similarly has engaged in socially liberal activism in the press and in her concerts frequently, even urging her audiences to vote for Obama. Beyonce and her husband rapper Jay-Z are both personal friends of the Obamas and she performed at his 2013 Inauguration.
The Business and Media Institute searched each name on the list for personal political contributions on the website opensecrets.org [2]. Additionally, BMI identified personal statements and party identifications from each name on the list, where available. Forty people on the list were counted as neutral.