When the White House was putting together a star-studded PSA earlier this year to deflect from its failures on COVID-19, the Trump administration had a list of preconditions for the celebrities who appeared in the commercial. According to a newly published report in the Washington Post, one of the biggest deal breakers was whether prospective participants had publicly supported LGBTQ+ rights in the past.
Documents obtained by Democratic lawmakers in the House and reviewed by the Post allegedly indicate that several big names were dropped from the administration’s shortlist because of their support for the LGBTQ+ community. Notes from a September 29 meeting between the Department of Health and Human Services and Atlas Research, a contractor hired to help enlist celebrities for the campaign, indicate that singer Christina Aguilera was nixed as a candidate because she’s an “Obama-supporting Democrat and a gay rights supporting liberal.”
Musicians Adam Levine and Justin Timberlake were removed from consideration for similar reasons. Levine, who has a gay younger brother, was described as a “liberal Democrat who supported Obama and fights for gay rights.” Timberlake also could not particpate because he “publicly endorsed Obama and supports gay marriage,” according to Atlas and HHS. The former NSYNC member first spoke out in favor of marriage equality in a 2011 interview with The Advocate.
Other celebrities who were deemed ineligible to appear in the ad included multihyphenate Jennifer Lopez and actor Jack Black due to a range of political objections. Vetters reportedly took issue with Lopez’s Super Bowl halftime performance, in which she criticized the Trump administration’s family separation policy at the border, and Black was said to be a “classic Hollywood liberal.”
Among the most humorous disqualifications was Gen Z singer Billie Eilish, whom objectors claimed is “destroying our country and everything we care about.”
According to the Post, Atlas and HHS began with a roster of 274 potential celebrities, which also included other rejected names like actor George Clooney, singer John Legend, comedian Jim Gaffigan, and director Judd Apatow. By the time the team was finished crossing out everyone who had either criticized the condemned the president or held opposing political views, the list was only down to just 10 people. Among the VIPs to pass muster were TV personality actor Dennis Quaid, gospel singer CeCe Winans, Ce Dr. Oz, Latin music superstars Marc Anthony and Enrique Iglesias, and country singers Billy Ray Cyrus and Miranda Lambert.
Curiously, former NBA player Dwyane Wade was OK’ed by the Trump administration’s vetting team despite the fact that he and his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, are outspoken trans allies. The two have vocally supported their daughter, Zaya, after she came out at the age of 12 and were honored by the Time 100 in September for their advocacy.
Several individuals declined after being asked by the Trump administration to participate, including singer Selena Gomez, Daily Show host Trevor Noah, and actor Dwayne Johnson.
The ad, which was intended to help Trump win reelection, reportedly cost $300 million to produce and is unlikely to be out before election day on November 3, according to the report. But even the Rock wouldn’t be able to save Trump’s campaign: The president trails by an average of 8.8. percentage points after more than 230,000 people died from COVID-19, an ongoing crisis that the administration had repeatedly downplayed.
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