Several notable voices in Hollywood are urging the U.S. public to vote in a special V Magazine cover shoot.
Taylor Swift, Jaden Smith, Janelle Monae, Bella Hadid, Chris Evans, Halsey, Janaya Future Khan, Jennifer Lawrence, Julianne Moore, Mariah Carey, Megan Rapinoe and Paperboy Prince star on 12 covers for the publication’s V127 special.
“The change we need most is to elect a president who recognizes that people of colour deserve to feel safe and represented, that women deserve the right to choose what happens to their bodies, and that the LGBTQIA+ community deserves to be acknowledged and included,” Swift says. “Everyone deserves a government that takes global health risks seriously and puts the lives of its people first.”
I spoke to @vmagazine about why I’ll be voting for Joe Biden for president. So apt that it’s come out on the night of the VP debate. Gonna be watching and supporting @KamalaHarris by yelling at the tv a lot. And I also have custom cookies 🍪💪😘
📷 @inezandvinoodh pic.twitter.com/DByvIgKocr
— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) October 7, 2020
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“I’m voting because I haven’t been happy with the leadership,” Smith chimes in. “I don’t feel as though I’m being represented or that I’m being listened to, or that the Black community is being represented or listened to at large. Things need to change, starting with how we treat the people of colour in the nation and how we’re allowing these systems of racism to still exist and for us to still follow them. That’s the main thing that keeps me up at night.”
Monae echoed many of the sentiments shared by Smith.
“I will be voting against racist policies and tactics that have continued to oppress and traumatize Black people,” she says. “Even I have been gerrymandered, just before the election of [Atlanta Mayor] Keisha Lance Bottoms, my county was redistricted, meaning her name was not on my ballot. After the election, my county went back to the original county lines. That is gerrymandering, and it is used to oppress and separate our voices.”
“Voting is so important because it is one way to show up for ourselves and our communities,” Carey adds. “It’s an opportunity for us to honour our ancestors – those that were unable to vote because of racism and sexism – and elect people that we hold accountable. I am so proud of the young people organizing, particularly Back people, who are leading this movement.”
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Chris Evans has been very politically active on social media and shared his thoughts in V Magazine.
“I think we are on the cusp of a really motivated, driven generation of young people who are very awake and connected. It is such a platitude, but they really are the future,” he explains. “It’s always the students, isn’t it? Whether it was the civil rights in the ‘60s or today, its’ always the young people [working toward change].”
“With every younger generations, they care and less about the archaic social norms that people before them are trying to preserve. Now more than ever, young people are involved in shaping the political and social landscape,” the “Captain America” star concludes. “It really is like a potter’s wheel and these young voices are molding our future.”