The last few weeks have seen a push from the right to shut up athletes, musicians, and comedians—only for them to triumph on the global stage. This pattern of behavior, which goes back years, highlights just how out of touch the right is with the general public.
For instance, conservatives complained about Grammy-winning recording artist Bad Bunny, who has expressed his support for immigrant rights, headlining the Super Bowl halftime show. The right expressed even more anger after Bad Bunny sang in Spanish and gave an inclusive shout-out to all of America—including Central, North, and South America.
One GOP member of Congress even floated the idea of a federal investigation into Bad Bunny, apparently for the crime of entertaining too many people.
But instead of listening to Republicans like Trump associate Laura Loomer, who declared that the halftime show “isn’t White enough for me,” people have flocked to Bad Bunny’s music in the weeks following his performance.
In fact, a whopping 18 of Bad Bunny’s tracks made it on the most recent Billboard Hot 100 music charts, including four songs in the top 10 and the top two songs overall.
Similarly, in the world of late night comedy, host Stephen Colbert revealed on Tuesday that CBS spiked the airing of his interview with Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico of Texas.
The pro-Trump owners of CBS’ parent company, Paramount, have been molding the network in President Donald Trump’s image over the last year, falling in line with pressure from Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who argues that comedy shows like Colbert’s must squeeze in Republicans whenever a Democrat is interviewed.
Colbert complied with his bosses but did call them out on air, and the show also posted the interview with Talarico on YouTube. In less than two days, it had racked up more than 7.7 million views.
Needless to say, that’s an unusually high level of interest in an interview with a federal candidate who isn’t running for president.
A similar story played out last year when the FCC and conservative-owned ABC network affiliates squeezed late night host Jimmy Kimmel—a prominent Trump critic—off air. After a massive public outcry, Kimmel was back on air, and he was welcomed back with his highest ratings in a decade.
Meanwhile, U.S. Olympic athletes have used the spotlight of the games to speak out about GOP actions to curtail the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. And after Republicans fumed about it, figure skater Amber Glenn brought home the gold, writing on social media, “They hate to see two woke bitches winning.”
This phenomenon isn’t new. Back in 2023, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—who tried and failed to run for president—tried to take on Disney, his state’s largest employer, for being too “woke.” The company, which is an American institution and known for having a diverse fanbase, had committed the sin of opposing the state’s draconian “don’t say gay” law.
But after conservatives went to war against Disney, aided by their allies at Fox News, Disney reported in 2024 that it had earned record profits at its theme parks. Families wanting to hang out with Mickey Mouse and the Disney princesses were not swayed by the right’s arguments.
These episodes show that time and time again the right is chronically out of touch with America.
Despite proclamations from figures like Trump arguing a sweeping endorsement of the conservative worldview after narrow election wins, and even some losses, the public hasn’t marched in lockstep with the right’s temper tantrums—whether they’re about Bad Bunny, Mickey Mouse, or Stephen Colbert.
Just look at the mostly unknown figures who were hired to perform at Turning Point USA’s lame alternative Super Bowl halftime show, and you’ll understand that right-wing “celebrity” is quite the low-wattage affair.
Conservatives love engaging in “culture war” issues. Currently, LGBTQ+ people and Latinos are bearing the brunt of that fight, with legislative and political attacks on their rights. The right does this because stoking bigotry has sometimes been a political winner for the Republican Party.
But when they take on the culture in general—in the guise of musicians, comedians, athletes, and animated characters—conservatives end up handing out free publicity. The phenomenon is called the Streisand Effect, and instead of getting people on board, the tactic keeps backfiring.
What often happens is that right-wing outrage exposes the target of hate to an even wider audience, and instead of joining in with conservatives, the public finds something new to love and consume.
Instead of being offended by Bad Bunny’s embrace of Latino culture, people are listening to his music. Instead of being disgusted by LGBTQ+ athletes, the public is cheering them on as fellow Americans. And instead of agreeing with the censorship of Colbert and Kimmel, the public is tuning in to late night.
Conservatives have utterly failed to rally the public behind their hateful crusades. And it’s because they simply don’t get it.
Published with permission of Daily Kos
