Celebrity showdown: Stars rally behind Kamala Harris, Donald Trump in 2024 US presidential race

Followed by:  Instagram: 283m Facebook: 80m X: 95m Spotify: 122m

Pop icon Taylor Swift’s resounding endorsement of Kamala Harris came right after the presidential debate between the candidates on September 10.

The American singer-songwriter who has one the most largest, devoted, and influential fan-base among the current singers wrote on her Instagram handle: “I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election. I’m voting for @kamalaharris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them. I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos. I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate @timwalz”.

The post soon gathered millions of likes (11.3 million so far) and rattled Trump and his followers. It created such a hue and cry and debate that Trump tried to hit back at her with a ‘I hate Taylor Swift” post on his Truth Social handle but it only exposed how much he valued her endorsement. Trump and the Republican camp tried to hit back at Swift, one of the most streamed artists on Spotify, but she has since gained around 1.8 million followers.

Ben Stiller  

Followed by: Instagram: 2m Facebook: 7.3m

Hollywood actor and filmmaker Ben Stiller announced his endorsement of Kamala Harris during a live streaming support event, Comics for Kamala.

“She's also a historic candidate. It's going to be the first woman president and that's incredibly exciting. She's Indian, she's Black, she's everything. You can be more than one thing, it's incredible,” Stiller said.

He has also pledged $150,000 to the campaign at the event. The 58-year-old actor later appeared at the United for America event hosted by Oprah Winfrey, which brought together many celebrities and grassroots organizations across America for Democratic nominees Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

Whoopi Goldberg

Followed by: Instagram: 2.1m Facebook: 1.8m

Oscar-winning US actor and television personality Whoopi Goldberg has been actively campaigning for Kamala Harris at various levels. On ‘The View’ she cohosts, Whoopi introduced Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States of America during her appearance at the show.

She has previously endorsed other Democrat candidates in the presidential race, including Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012 and Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Oprah Winfrey 

Followed by: Instagram: 22.6m Facebook: 22m

Oprah Winfrey took the stage at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the 2024 presidential election. US media mogul and billionaire talk show host went on to anchor an event in Michigan to string together a number of celebrity endorsements for Kamala Harris that was live-streamed across the world. Top names in the US entertainment world, ranging from Chris Rock to Julia Roberts, and Ben Stiller to Meryl Streep joined the show via video link and endorsed Kamal Harris as the next US president.

Oprah had maintained she wished to remain out of politics but has made a distinction in the case of Kamala Harris because she said she felt compelled to use her platform to urge Americans to choose 'optimism over cynicism and inclusion over retribution, as reported by CBS. A lot of things were at stake, she said.

"A lot of things are at stake... The bottom line for me is that decency and respect are on the ballot. And that is why I was willing to do it," she was quoted as saying.

She has endorsed other Democratic candidates historically with mixed results. While Barrack Obama and Joe Biden won, Hillary Clinton, the candidate she supported in 2016 lost to Donald Trump.

Chris Rock  

Followed by:  Instagram: 6.2 million Facebook: 7.5m X: 5.3m

US comedian and filmmaker Chris Rock has thrown his weight behind Kamala Harris. He joined Oprah Winfrey‘s 'Unite for America 2024', which sought to highlight the broad support Kamala Harris is enjoying from diverse groups across the country.

Rock talked about how he wants to bring his daughters to the White House to meet Harris if she’s elected in November.

“I wanna bring my daughters to the White House to meet this Black woman president…. I think she would make a great president and I’m ready to turn the page, man. All of the hate and the negativity. It’s gotta stop,” he said.

Julia Roberts  

Followed by:  Instagram: 12.7m

Hollywood actor and Academy Award winner Julia Roberts has publicly endorsed Kamala Harris in September expressing her support for the Vice President. The lifelong Democrat has also participated in Oprah Winfrey's Unite For America livestream, stating her children also plan to vote for the Democratic candidate.

“I am a mother of two kids this is their first chance to vote in an election and I couldn’t be more excited for them to have the legacy to say that their first vote they ever cast for president was for you,' she said.

The Hollywood icon later joined Kamala's campaign in her home state Georgia.

“I believe in Georgia. I wouldn’t have come home if I didn’t believe that we can accomplish really beautiful goals that will extend beyond our state’s borders,” Roberts was quoted in the media as saying. “I just hope that all the women here tonight talk to all the men that aren’t here tonight. And all you brave men who are here tonight, talk to all the other men who aren’t here tonight,” she said at the rally.

Jennifer Lopez 

Followed by:  Instagram: 250m Facebook: 61m Spotify: 13m

US singer and actress Jennifer Lopez joined Oprah Winfrey’s Unite For America 2024 event and announced her endorsement for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.

“If we all vote, we can determine the direction of our country and create a better future for our communities,” she said.

Tracee Ellis Ross  

Followed by:  TikTok: 15.5 Facebook: 3.9m

A very vocal and ardent supporter of Kamala Harris, Hollywood actress Tracee Ellis Ross blasted JD Vance’s ‘Childless cat ladies’ remark, while participating in the United for America 2024 event hosted by Oprah Winfrey.

“As a 52-year-old childless woman, I want to say to the people who think that a woman's worth is measured in her baby count' that childless women have been 'mothering the world and elevating culture,” the daughter of legendary singer Diana Ross said.

“You do not need to push out a baby to push humanity forward,” Ross said.

Bryan Cranston  

Followed by:  Instagram: 5.6m Facebook: 4.5m X: 2.2m

Hollywood actor Bryan Cranston endorsed Kamala Harris to be the next president of the United States. The Breaking Bad star highlighted his strong pro-choice beliefs as the reason behind his support.

“I‘m not a politician; I’m not a doctor or a lawyer, but I have played all of this on television,” Cranston said.

“But I am a father of a daughter, and it’s important to me for her life now and for the future and for other fathers’ daughters to be able to have within their lifetime the fundamental right of freedom of choice,” he said.

“There should not be anyone but them deciding what happens to their own body. That’s why I’m enthusiastically supporting Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz,” he said.

Meryl Streep  

Followed by: Instagram: 756k X: 61.2k

Legendary actress Meryl Streep endorsed Kamala Harris for president in an event hosted by Oprah Winfrey. She made a little slip (perhaps intentionally) when she addressed Vice President Kamala Harris at a live-streamed event in Michigan. “Hello President Harris, oops…”

"From my mouth to God's ear," the veteran actor then said. "I think you're going to win, I'm sure you're going to win," she said.

Magic Johnson 

Followed by:  Instagram: 3.7m Facebook: 4.4m

NBA legend and businessman is a Kamala Harris supporter. He made it official on X/Twitter by joining 90 other prominent business leaders in an open letter outlining why they are supporting the Democratic candidate.

Johnson also took to social media alongside Harris to express his endorsement while reminding people to register to vote.

George Clooney  

Hollywood actor and filmmaker George Clooney was one of the first celebrities to endorse Kamala Harris. Before that, the actor noted for activism, has also written an op-ed calling for Joe Biden to drop out of race following his debate debacle with Donald Trump.

He hailed Kamala’s candidature as historic. “President Biden has shown what true leadership is,” he said in a statement to CNN. “He’s saving democracy once again. We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris in her historic quest”.

Clooney has also responded enthusiastically to Taylor Swift's endorsement of Kamala Harris. “What a beautiful thing to do. She is real phenomenon right now,” Cooney told AP. “It’s exciting to see all of these young people engaged in the national discourse… I’m very excited to see her engaged,” he said.

Mark Ruffalo 

Followed by:  Instagram: 20m   X: 8.2m  Facebook: 6.3m

Noted Hollywood actor Mark Ruffalo was a celebrity participant on the 'White Dudes for Harris’ Zoom call that raised $4m for vice-president Kamala Harris.

“What is clear is that Kamala not only has a vision for the future and lifting America up but she is just so much even-tempered and so much smarter than Trump,” Ruffalo wrote on X.

“She crushed him. It was like watching Muhammad Ali: she baited him and then let him swing wildly until he sputtered out, he added.

Bruce Springsteen  

Followed by:  Instagram: 1.8m Spotify: 6.6m Facebook: 6m

Music superstar Bruce Springsteen endorsed Kamala Harris and labelled Donald Trump "the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime.”

In an Instagram video, he described the upcoming election as “one of the most consequential elections in our nation’s history”.

The 75-year-old legendary singer praised Harris and Walz’s commitment to “a vision of this country that respects and includes everyone, regardless of class, religion, race, your political point of view or sexual identity, and they want to grow our economy in a way that benefits all, not just a few like me on top,” in the video.

Bruce Springsteen is also hitting the campaign trail to drum up support for Kamala Harris in the final sprint starting with a concert and rally in Atlanta, according to reports.

Elon Musk

Followed by: X: 202m

The top cheerleader of the Trump celebrity bandwagon is none other than Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Musk’s endorsement came as early as July, shortly after he was wounded in the ear in an alleged assassination attempt. They had some sort of a fallout or misunderstanding in between but it was soon repaired though the details of the deal are not public yet.

In October Musk joined Trump in a rally and said, "President Trump must win to preserve the Constitution. He must win to preserve democracy in America.”

Musk has funnelled $75 million to the pro-Trump PAC he founded and has promised up to $ 1 million daily reward to voters in a controversial move.

Reports say he and the six companies he oversees have “a lot to gain or lose" depending on who gets to sit in the Oval Office next year.

'The future of America and the future of civilization is at stake,' Musk said at the rally as he urged people to register to vote in Pennsylvania. "This election could be decided by a handful of people.'

Trump has also floated a presidential appointment for Musk, a non-cabinet level position he's coined the "Secretary of Cost-Cutting."

Musk admits it is a do-or-die battle and he is not entirely without some self-doubt.

"If he loses, I'm *&**$%," he said, chuckling, during a recent interview with Tucker Carlson. "How long do you think my prison sentence is going to be? Will I see my children? I don't know."

Jake Paul

Followed by: YouTube: 20m Instagram: 27m Facebook: 5.7m

US professional boxer and YouTuber Jake Paul had declared his endorsement for Donald Trump in the presidential election, as early as July. He pointed out inflation, price rise, minimum wage, mortgages, jobs, and the health of citizens as the main reasons behind this decision. The 27-year-old who is preparing to battle the 58-year-old Mike Tyson (another Trump supporter) has revealed that he fears for America if Donald Trump loses the election.

“I think freedom of speech will probably be taken away from us in a secret, tricky way that we can’t track technically,” he said.

He is worried about America in case Kamala Harris wins the White House race. “I think America will fall, the borders will open, tens of millions of illegal criminals and people from other countries will pour in," he said in an interview with Hollywood Reporter.

Kanye West  

Followed by: Spotify: 67m

Trump and Kanye enjoyed a kind of off-and-on relationship from as far back as 2016 right after his victory in the presidential election. When asked if he was backing Trump in February 2024, he said “Yes, it’s Trump all day.”

The 46-year-old singer has generally continued to support the former president all these years. This continued despite Trump insulting Kanye and his erstwhile while wife Kim Kardashian in a controversial Mar-a-Lago meeting in 2022.

Donald Trump called Kanye West "a seriously troubled man" in a statement after having dinner at Mar-a-Lago. That was the occasion when Kanye said he too was running for president and asked Trump to be his running mate in the next elections. Apparently, the meeting didn’t go well. According to reports, the meeting also featured Nick Fuentes, a far-right activist who has used his online platform to spew anti-semitic and white nationalist rhetoric.

According to reports, the Chicago rapper was spotted, along with his wife Biance Censori, outside a Donald Trump rally in Beverly Hills in August though he didn’t take part in the event directly.

James Wood

Followed by: Instagram: 163k

Hollywood actor and producer James Wood, a hardened Trump supporter, says if Donald Trump is not reelected in November “America is gone forever”. The 77-year-old has recently revealed that he has sacrificed a lot for his support of Donald Trump and the right-wing party.

Wood was an executive producer of Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, and when the movie came out “it was gently suggested that I basically remain invisible, which was painful”, he said. Wood was considered a risk for Oppenheimer’s release and award campaign, he said.

Russel Brand  

Followed by: Instagram: 4.6m

Comedian Russel Brand endorsed Donald Tump even before Biden bowed out and Kamala Harris stepped into the election area, but he hasn’t changed his stance.

“If you care about democracy, if you care about freedom, I don’t know how you could do anything other than vote for Donald Trump for precisely the reasons that they claim that you can’t,” he said.

Hulk Hogan

Followed by: Instagram 2.6m Facebook: 7.8m X: 750k

Ageing wrestling icon Hulk Hogan voiced his support for Trump during the Republican National Convention in July in typical fashion, ripping off his shirt to reveal a Trump-Vance tanktop underneath it.

“I'm here tonight because I want the world to know that Donald Trump is a real American hero, and I'm proud to support my hero as the next president of this United States,” the 71-year-old said.

“Over my career, I've been in the ring with some of the biggest, some of the baddest dudes on the planet. Donald Trump is the toughest of them all. They've thrown everything at Donald Trump, all the investigations, the impeachments, the court cases, and he's still standing," Hogan said.

Nicky Jam  

Followed by: Instagram: 44m YouTube: 24m Facebook: 29.1m

Nicky Jam is an American singer of Dominican and Puerto Rican parentage, born in Massachusetts. The Latin trap and reggaeton singer publicly endorsed Trump for president at a huge public rally in Las Vegas on Sept. 13. Unfortunately, in the same venue Trump mistakenly introduced the Latin Grammy award winner as a woman.

“Latin music superstar Nicky Jam,” Trump said. “Do you know Nicky? She’s hot!”

"We need you. We need you back, right? We need you to be the president," Nicky Jam said at the event. However, he later went on to delete his Instagram post endorsing Trump following the removal of his song by Mexican rock group Mana, saying they ‘don’t work with racists’.

Mike Tyson  

Followed by: Instagram: 30.5m Facebook: 23.3m

Former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson has been unequivocal in his support of Donald Trump.  “Trump is going to win. Yeah, it'd be nice if he wins, yeah. I have my reasons [for wanting him to win]... He is just a good man,” Tyson said.

Iron Mike and former president Donald Trump have an interesting history together. Trump apparently stood up for Tyson during his bad days and was among the few people who supported the boxing legend when he was convicted of rape. Following this, he endorsed Trump during the 2016 presidential run.

"I like Donald Trump. Donald Trump stood up for me when they were talking bad about me and people were saying, 'What do you think about this convicted rapist saying he was for you?' He responds and he says he accepted me vouching for him. He accepted that and said Mike is my friend and I respected that... 'I don't want no rapist campaigning for me.' He could've easily said that,” Tyson was quoted in the media as saying.

Chuck Norris

Followed by: Instagram: 2.3m Facebook: 7.1m

In the 2024 election there has been no public record of Chuck Norris endorsing any candidate even though he is a longtime supporter of Republican candidates. He had endorsed Donald Trump in the 2016 campaign.

The 84-year old US martial artist and actor has emphasized his belief in Trump’s ability to lead the country and his commitment to law and order.

However, Norris did not endorse any candidate in the 2020 election.