In 2025, being a super famous pop star is a political act, whether musicians (or their fans) like it or not. Singing the soundtrack to our summers has to be political because the political is the personal, baby. Sure, there was a time when keeping your massive platform strictly focused on entertainment and staying silently out of the political fray was celebrity 101. Unfortunately and fortunately, I’d say that era officially came to a crashing halt when a convicted felon took presidential office.
That being said, finding the line between being an artist and an activist is a dance even harder than the entire Beychella choreo. Beyoncé, for example, is praised for reclaiming Black political history for the mainstream while donating millions to sociopolitical causes and yet is still also loudly criticized for not speaking out enough about controversial issues in real-time. Lady Gaga’s natural transition from club kid to LGBTQ+ advocate has made her an enemy of Elon Musk (a win is a win) but also caused problems with her own dad. Even Taylor Swift, after much pleading from the public, finally disavowed white supremacists who had her songs on repeat. This surely led to a loss on her bottom line (a loss of horrible, hateful people who should never be courted but, factually, a financial loss nonetheless).
TLDR: Serving up vocals while also using your voice for politics isn’t easy. In fact, Chappell Roan told Alex Cooper it was “impossible” to be “fucking so politically educated” on Call Her Daddy, following flack she got for both sides-ing the 2024 election last year. Chappell went on to ask her fans, “Why the fuck are you looking to me for some political answer? You think I have the fucking answer? I’m a pop star. I wish I had the answers.” But there’s a huge gap between proclaiming to have all of the answers and tapping out. That’s where Clairo’s surprise Berniechella appearance comes in. Why was Bernie Sanders at Coachella? Follow me through the desert directly to the point of political activism in music.
What did Bernie Sanders say at Coachella?
After thanking indie singer-songwriter/fairy angel who helps me romanticize my life, Clairo, Bernie started his speech by introducing Maxwell Frost. As Bernie said, Maxwell “is a member of the United States Congress, the youngest member and, in [his] view, one of the best members.” He wanted to introduce Maxwell to those who “may or may not know him” because Maxwell is fighting for democracy in Florida, and local politics is pretty much our only chance for any semblance of justice rn.
Then, Bernie moved on to clock the very bitter tea defining the US right now: “This country faces some very difficult challenges. And the future of what happens to America is dependent upon your generation. Now you can turn away, and you can ignore what goes on, but if you do that, you do it at your own peril. We need you to stand up to fight for justice.” Yes, the future voters who will make or break the 2028 election are currently risking heatstroke for their faves at a music festival.
Bernie went on to say we need Gen Z and Gen Alpha “to fight for economic justice, social justice, and racial justice” because “we got a president of the United States” (which was met with raucous boos before Bernie could even finish his sentence, lol) who “thinks that climate change is a hoax.” You know how every year the world’s top scientists are like, hey guyssss, this is kind of our last chance to save the planet? Kinda important!
“All over this country” in the dangerously conservative states “like Florida, where Maxwell is from,” Bernie explained, “politicians are trying to take away a woman’s right to control her body. We need you to stand up and fight for women’s rights.” On top of that, Bernie emphasized that “We have an economy today that is working very well for the billionaire class but not for working families,” in addition to “a healthcare system that is broken.” Bernie ofc included my favorite fun fact about America, which is that “We are the only major country not to guarantee healthcare to all people.”
Why was Bernie Sanders at Coachella?
Bernie ended his speech by hitting the point home: “We need you to stand up to the insurance companies and the drug companies and understand that healthcare is a human right.” He pleaded with the youth who were passionate enough about something to camp in 100-degree heat to get involved with fighting the capitalist corporate greed that is destroying our livelihood and planet.
This message applies to every American citizen, TBH, but the scary reality is that research is showing how Gen Z and Gen Alpha are being radicalized through social media. So speaking directly to younger generations, who hold the keys to the future, to counteract this frightening indoctrination is a critical mission that I’m gonna need the rest of the progressive leadership to clock in on, like, TODAY.
Before handing off the mic, Bernie explained his connection to Clairo. “I’m here because Clairo has used her prominence to fight for women’s rights, to try to end the terrible, brutal war in Gaza where thousands of women and children are being killed,” Bernie said. He thanked Clairo “not only for being a great band but for the great work she is doing.”
This brings us back to Chappell’s question (“How can these girls tour, write, perform, interview, sleep, eat, and fucking work out? And lead a team and be a boss and pay people? AND be fucking… so politically educated?”). I think the only real answer is that no singer or celeb, herself included, can or should try to do “it all.” But they should try — and be open to failure while doing so, especially if they benefit from marginal communities through their meaningful music as Chappell does. Like, there’s a reason fans are probs looking to artists like Ms. Roan or Kendrick Lamar more than, IDK, JoJo Siwa, and it would be neat if these valued entertainers would attempt to rise to the occasion — however they feel empowered to do so.
Clairo chose the brilliant option of using her platform to give a literal platform to someone who is very educated on the subject (Bernie Sanders). There is no perfect pop star/political activist, and since the job doesn’t come with a weekly shift in Congress, there doesn’t have to be! Even if it did, even our best politicians (of which there are few) make mistakes and mistakes that contribute to grave consequences for their constituents (lol, thanks for all your help with our current shitshow, DNC).
The best thing any of us, rich and famous songstresses included, can do when you’re down for the cause but paralyzed by pressure is to amplify voices.
