Lil Wayne, JAY-Z, other hip hop stars considered for Trump admin’s celebrity-studded HHS political ads
Trump appointees specifically asked for Ludacris, while also considering ‘Russell Simons’ and Nicki Minaj.
Michael Caputo, the Trump-appointed Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs to the Health & Human Services (HHS) Department, tried to get a number of celebrities in taxpayer-funded PSAs and advertisements. They were intended to promote efforts to curb the coronavirus, but Caputo wanted them to “be filmed ASAP” as part of efforts to induce “framing the ad campaign around helping the president,” Politico reports. Hip Hop’s top stars were among those in consideration.
At least one of the planned ads, which included actor Dennis Quaid and singer CeCe Winans, was produced. Others were nixed after the HHS Secretary, Alex Azar, ordered an oversight review of the project. According to documents by the HHS and recently made available to the House of Representatives’ Oversight Committee, at least one was cancelled likely due to the involvement of George Lopez, a celebrity who has been critical of the President, sitting down with Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The most surprising document from this political scheme was the “PSA Celebrity Tracker”, which was a list by contractor Atlas Research of celebrities considered for the participation in the project. The list, produced or last revised on October 23, evaluated the “political” beliefs of over 200 public figures — “political” primarily being their public statements either supporting or damning current President Donald Trump or previous President Barack Obama or 2016 Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton. They also noted potential criminal or civil infractions, or their believed identity from the political spectrum - and several were deemed “advocates” or “activists” based on their stances on LGBTQ rights, Black Lives Matter (“BLM”), or abortion.
Some, such as Winans and singer Shulem Lemmer, do not appear on the list as obtained, despite their planned participation.
The list and other claims about the project are compiled in the few documents that the House Oversight Committee has obtained. It is their position that HHS is not complying with their inquiry into the alleged political influence attempted by the executive, Cabinet-level public health department.
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“Your failure to provide the documents we requested — especially in light of the information we have learned from the contractors — appears to be part of a cover-up,” the Committee’s memorandum to the Secretary Azar and others states, “to conceal the Trump Administration’s misuse of hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars for partisan political purposes ahead of the upcoming election, and to direct taxpayer funds to friends and allies of Trump Administration officials.”
They cite the fact that the agency approved only a few celebrities — 10, to be exact — to discuss taking part in the series of ads with contractors. That was before all that consented pulled out after Politico initially broke news of the project’s alleged intention last month.
The evidence also shows that Caputo personally approved Ludacris and Marc Anthony, among other celebrities, in emails — even though it was not his purview to issue directives to the federal government-hired contractors or approve who was included in their production. The Atlanta rapper declined, and he was not included in the “Celebrity Tracker” list, which might have been drafted before or after these asks.
Caputo also tried to push for federal contractors to hire a Russian-born business partner of his to film the campaign. He had never worked on “U.S. public health campaigns” before, according to Politico.
The chairs of the Committee — Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL)— allege: “HHS and its contractors knew exactly what concern this PSA campaign was going to invoke.”
Ludacris was far from the only musician considered by those overseeing the country’s management of public health to improve their public image — and the President’s — during the coronavirus pandemic. Lil Wayne, JAY-Z, and Ice-T — all “maybes” — were among the highlights.
Non-music highlights include Insecure star Issa Rae, listed as someone who “expresses political statements through fashion in her show ‘Insecure’ regarding police brutality on black people.” Actress Gina Rodriguez was under consideration despite the fact that she “faced a couple of racial scandals and faced criticism by stating [statements that were] AntiBlack [sic] in 2018 and 2019,” according to contractors.
Karlie Kloss, who is married to the brother of Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump’s husband and President Trump’s advisor, is listed as a “a Democrat… passionate about women’s reproductive health.”
Other musicians will be listed below. Note that the HHS contractor evaluations of some may not be factually accurate. Known inaccuracies will be noted, but there will likely be more. The full list as released is available through the Oversight Committee.
As to their consideration, all were listed as “Pending Answer” status and likely to perform well in the “Black Americans, Super spreaders, General population” audience demographics, except where otherwise noted.
Let this be a message, to music stars and their fans alike, that the structure of the state don’t allow for any of us to be apolitical.
(Other comments, and remarks in quotations, pulled from the “Additional notes” column of HHS contractor documents except where noted. Names of primarily hip hop acts are in bold. The list was up to date as of Oct. 23.)
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Lil Baby — noted for “The Bigger Picture”, song released days after George Floyd’s death.
Lil Uzi Vert — “Arrested for riding an unregistered and uninsured dirt bike, against govt & politics and expressed indifference”
Lil Wayne — “Discussing internally; big fan of Obama, stated he does not like Republicans.” Listed status as “Maybe; Follow-Up”
Beyoncé — “Has a net rating of 63% favorable among democrats, and -3% among [Republicans].”
Cardi B — “Arrested with misdemeanor assault and two counts of reckless endangerment in 2018, Endorsed Biden for President”. Cardi’s previous support of Bernie Sanders was not noted, unlike others.
Eminem — “Arrested in 2001 for gun charge, songs reflect his political views, against Republicans
Roddy Ricch — “Arrested in 2019 on felony domestic charges.”
Ariana Grande — “Endorsed Bernie Sanders, expresses Democratic views.” Grande was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Garth Brooks — “Stayed politically silent, confidently said ‘its always about serving’ when reporter asked him if he would perform during Trumps [sic] inauguration.” Brooks was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Justin Timberlake — “Publicly endorsed Obama and supports gay marriage.” Timberlake was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Nicki Minaj — “Arrested in 2003 for criminal possession of a weapon, supported Obama and Hillary Clinton, does not want to focus on politics when rapping.”
Travis Scott — “Arrested in 2017 for enticing a riot and disorderly conduct in Arkansas, appeared as a special guest at a rally for Beto O’Rourke, Democratic candidate”
Billy Joel — “Not a fan of Trump but not going to be politically involved in 2020.” Joel was not included in the Black Americans or super spreader audience demographics.
Jennifer Lopez — “Made a political statement during her Super Bowl performance to address Trump’s immigration policies.” Lopez was not included in the Black Americans or super spreader audience demographics, but was included in the Latinx demographic.
Taylor Swift — “Endorsed Phil Predesen, Democratic candidate in 2018, wrote a letter to her senator to support the Equality Act, says Trumps presidency is ‘autocracy’ and says she is pro-choice.” Only listed in general population audience demographic.
Linkin’ Park/Mike Shinoda, Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder — no notes. Only listed in general population audience demographic.
Tim McGraw — “Maybe, Follow Up” as McGraw was “on vacation”, contractors note, in addition to the fact that he “expressed his views on gun control and vaguely referenced politics in songs.” Only listed in general population audience demographic.
Bon Jovi — “Maybe, Follow Up.” It is likely this may have referred specifically to Jon Bon Jovi. They (or Jon) were also noted as “on vacation”, and contractors included “Democratic party’s supporters”, likely to indicate that he was big with that audience although it was not included in demographic column. “Has been appointed to a public position by the Obama administration,” they also noted.
Bruno Mars — “Not much on political views, but it is believed he is a liberal Democrat”. Mars was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Christina Aguilera — “Arrested for public intoxication in 2011. She is an Obama-supporting Democrat and a gay-rights supporting liberal”. Aguilera was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
“Maroon 5/Adam Levine” — “Liberal democrat who supported Obama and fights for gay rights.” Levine, or the band as a whole, was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Ice T — “Maybe, Follow Up”. Noted that the rapper-turned-actor currently starring on Law & Order: SVU “Needs to wait another month before committing,” and that he is “interested in gun safety in relation to police brutality”. Ice-T was not included in the super spreaders audience demographic.
Will Smith — “Arrested in 1989 in relation to an alleged assault on his record promoter; Donated to Obama’s presidential campaign in 2008 and supports legalizing same sex marriage”. Minus the arrest information, Smith’s wife Jada Pinkett Smith is listed with the same information.
Ricky Martin — “Democratic Party supporter with an interest in gay rights and issues related to Hispanics”. Martin was listed in the “Latinx community” and “LGBTQ” audience demographics.
Donald Glover — The entertainer, aka Childish Gambino, was noted as “[h]e was Democratic candidate, Andrew Yang’s creative consultant for the Andrew Yang presidential campaign”. Was not included in the super spreaders demographic.
Lin-Manuel Miranda — The Hamilton creator was found to have “No information regarding political affiliation,” according to contractors, despite the fact that Miranda visited the Obama White House in 2015 and rapped with the President. In 2016, then Vice President-elect Mike Pence was famously lectured during curtain call after a Hamilton matinee (Miranda had ended his leading role on the show by that time). Trump demanded an apology from the Broadway show for the “harrassment”. Listed in the “Asian Americans” and general population audience demographics.
Billy Porter — “Porter’s protest song “For What its Worth” is a call for people to vote in November; blames the Trump administration for the way the Pandemic was handled”. Porter was not included in the super spreaders audience demographic.
Billie Eilish — “Made a political statement on gun control in 2019; will be a first time voter in 2020; not a Trump supporter, stated he ‘is destroying our country and everything we care about’.” Eilish was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Johnny Depp — “Arrested in 1994 and 1989 for violence; appears to be aligned with the liberal left”. Depp was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Jack Black — “Used his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony to speak out against Trump in 2018; known to be a classic Hollywood Liberal”. Black was not included in the Black Americans audience demographic.
Chris Martin — The lead singer of Coldplay’s notes are a whirlwind, as he is described as someone who “seems to be liberal but endorsed the British conservative party in 2006, then switched to the Liberal Democrats in 2010; He has criticized Bush but given Obama a ‘shout out’.” Martin was not included in the Black Americans or super spreaders audience demographics.
Zendaya — “Advocates for young people to use their voice during the Teen Choice Awards in 2017”. She was not included in the Black Americans or super spreaders audience demographics.
Albert Hammond, Jr. — “No information regarding political affiliation”. Hammond was not included in the Black Americans or super spreaders audience demographics.
John Legend — “Has had multiple twitter fights with Trump; endorsed Elizabeth Warren during her presidential candidate campaign; he cares about reforming democracy and criminal justice reform”. Legend as not included in the super spreaders audience demographic.
Blake Shelton — “Does not like to speak on politics; has shown some support for Republicans and is pro-gun”. Shelton was listed in the General population and Elderly audience demographics.
Chance the Rapper — “Questioned on twitter if we are a pro two-system party, released a poll asking his followers if they want reparations; supported Kanye West’s presidential bid instead of Biden”. He was not included in the super spreaders audience demographic.
Kelly Clarkson — “Has voiced her liberal opinions including legalizing marijuana, Hillary Clinton’s run for president, and NFL protests”. Clarkson was not included in the Black Americans or Super Spreaders demographic.
“Dave Ghrol” [sic] — Dave Grohl, known primarily through his work with Nirvana and the Foo Fighters, is noted for being “arrested in 2000 due to a DUI” and for having “ campaigned for Democrats”. Grohl was only listed in the General population audience demographic.
Will.I.Am — “Maybe, Follow-Up”. The Black Eyed Peas leader’s appearance was being “Discuss[ed] internally,” but he was noted as an “Obama-supporting Democrat in 2008.”
“Russell Simons” [sic] — longtime music mogul Russell Simmons was noted as “Accused of sexual assault by 20 women; stated that Trump is the epitome of white supremacy”. [Just want to note here that despite these two very good reasons for the HHS contractors to avoid him, in addition to the fact that he was supposedly living in Indonesia to avoid extradition, they still reached out and his answer was “pending” like others.]
Jennifer Hudson — “Not vocal about political issues but is an Obama supporter and friend of the family”.
Wyclef Jean — “No specific political or criminal history notes.”
Yo-Yo Ma — “Maybe; Follow Up”. The cellist’s team “will get back to us 9/14 (still pending). No specific political or criminal history notes,” the contractors wrote. Was not listed in the Black Americans audience demographic, but instead in the Asian Americans demographic.
“JAY-Z (Shawn Corey Carter)” — “Maybe; Follow Up”. The contractors note that “Manager talking to him” and that the mogul may “Reconsider depending on who signs. Arrested for assault and convicted sentenced to three years probation. Publicly supported President Obama and Hillary Clinton, appearing at a rally.”
Bruce Springsteen — “Publicly supported President Obama. LGBT rights activist. Publicly critical of President Trump”.
RuPaul Charles — “Publicly supported Democratic Party candidates including Hillary Clinton. Political statements on television shows.” Also listed in the LGBTQ demographic.
Kid Rock — “Arrests related to alcohol in 1991 and 1997. Charged with assault in 2005. Sex tape item in 2006 but not distributed. Charged with assault in 2007 and convicted. Publicly supported multiple Republican Party candidates including President Trump.” Only listed in the “General public” audience demographic.
Snoop Dogg — “Controversial political comments during elections. Critical of President Trump. Arrested in 1993 related to driving vehicle related to murder.”
Lizzo — “Publicly supports democratic candidates. Critical of President Trump. Minor incident with food delivery driver regarding social media post accusing them of stealing”. Only listed in the African Americans and LGBTQ community audience demographic.
Jessica Simpson — “Registered republican and endorsed President George W Bush in 2004. Publicly praised First Lady Michelle Obama.” Only listed in the women and general public audience demographic.
Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Britney Spears, Selena Gomez, Miranda Cosgrove — no notes or other information other than “declined”.
Marc Anthony — “Accepted” candidate for PSA campaign. Anthony was being “discussed internally”, likely by HHS due to the fact that he “revealed in 2016 that he’s fully committed to voting for Hillary Clinton, and respects Bernie Sanders”, contractors noted. At some point Caputo did signal approval to Anthony’s participation. Listed in Latinx, Elderly, and general population audience demographics.
