Meghan Trainor, fierce advocate for body positivity, independence, and telling lecherous men your phone number is two letters without an area code, landed the cover story of this week’s Billboard. Though it begins by billing the star as “an approachable role model for girls,” the piece contains a passage most young people would be better off ignoring.
After the conversation steers from her background and “sudden” stardom to Meghan’s thoughts on current events, they write “she’s not as politically savvy as some stars.” They continue.
While she’s outspoken about LGBTQ rights and gun control (“I think it’s ridiculous that random crazy people can buy guns”), she tunes out whenever anyone brings up the election. “I should be way more aware, and if it was [Clinton] or Trump, I’d definitely vote for her,” she says.
(I’d like to point out that I found no receipts proving Trainor has ever been “outspoken about LGBTQ rights,” but that’s just a side note.) I don’t expect celebrities to be experts on anything but their chosen craft, and thought Trainor’s honesty when expressing the desire to be more aware was a nice thing to read. It also would have been a good place for her to stop talking. Unfortunately, she didn’t.
“But I’ve never voted and I don’t have any desire to.”
That 22-year-old Trainor has chosen not to vote in the two elections (2012 and 2014) for which she was eligible is nowhere near as annoying (and dare I say damaging?) as publicly expressing her desire not to do so, and that quote sets a lousy example for her legions of teen fans who are fast approaching the first day they’ve been able to line up at the ballot boxes.
I’m not suggesting every celebrity should tell their fans to go out and vote this year (though it would be nice), nor am I saying they should share their political opinions at all (as much as I love her, I truly do not care who Jessica Chastain is voting for), but! If they do decide to speak up about voting—especially in an year like this one—the very least they can do is not glamorize staying home.
But before I leave you to hum “No” to yourself for the rest of the day, let me share two additional quotes from the profile in which Trainor explains that she uses all the mental energy saved by not caring about the state of our country on other things, like wishing she were Trinidadian.
“I always say, ‘I’m Trini to the bone,’ which means you have Trini blood. I don’t. I just wish I did.”
Later, she suggests it’s the kind of wish that runs in her family.
“My dad thinks he’s James Brown sometimes.”
Nah to the ah to the Meghan please stop talking.
Image via Getty.
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