Celebrities seemingly became the central focus of the recent inauguration of Joe Biden, providing various performances throughout the day. Though many advocated for unity, the focus on selfies and opulence highlighted the divide between the Hollywood elites and the average American.
In the beginning of the day, it was singer Lady Gaga who took center stage as she belted out the national anthem. The singer performed in an over-the-top outfit, typical of her style, complete with what many are calling a “mockingjay” pin, which was apparently conceived as “a dove with an olive branch as a message of peace and forgiveness,” à la Noah and God.
Per Gaga, “A dove carrying an olive branch. May we all make peace with each other.”
The message will likely fall flat. In a 2020 Rolling Stone article, Gaga said, “Donald Trump is a man who believes his fame gives him the right to grab one of your daughters or sisters or mothers or wives by any part of their body. Vote for Joe—he’s a good person.”
(Who also, for the record, has been photographed and videoed several times seemingly making women and young girls uncomfortable by unnecessarily invading their personal space.)
Chrissy Teigen, the outspoken former model turned wife of singer John Legend, posted a series of foul-mouthed Instagram posts as she and her family prepared for Legend’s evening performance.
In one, with Teigen posing with the Washington Monument in the background, she wrote, “Today our great national f—kup is over, but the shame will last forever. With 2 impeachments, the creating of 3 million LESS jobs, 403,000 dead, a record low approval rating and god knows how many crimes, we can officially say Donald J.Trump is the greatest at being the f—king worst. Maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to have the guy with barely enough well-done steak with ketchup fueled brainpower to power a lightbulb who doesn’t even know how to close an umbrella run the country. History will not be kind to you, you absolute psychopath. But I never was anyhow.”
It’s unclear exactly why, but she’s apparently important enough to be one of only 13 Twitter accounts followed by the official @POTUS Twitter page.
And last, but certainly not least, is Jennifer Lopez, a.k.a. JLo, who was invited to sing at the inauguration. The singer, actress and mogul apparently had a dramatic modeling session on the steps of the Capitol Building, with two outfit changes, curtesy of Chanel, which is a notable French fashion house, and for shoes Jimmy Choo, an English brand. If she was feeling particularly patriotic, it didn’t extend to any aspect of wardrobe. (Though, to be fair, Kellyanne Conway wore a patriotic red, white and blue Gucci outfit to President Trump’s inauguration, which is Italian made.)
Traditionally, many of the women attending turn to American fashion houses for their inauguration outfits.
According to Tony Allen, CEO of the Presidential Inauguration Committee, Lopez and others, “represent one clear picture of the grand diversity of our great nation and will help honor and celebrate the time-honored traditions of the presidential inauguration.”
It’s unclear how multimillionaires, who likely all support the Paris Climate Accords but arrived via private jets, represent any part of America except for the detached uber elite.
The parade of over-the-top, self-indulgent photos reminds middle America about how disconnected members of Hollywood and politicians are from the people they claim to champion.
The Biden inauguration committee would have been better served by ditching Hollywood and embracing those around the country who have worked hard and want to make a difference.
Photo from REUTERS