Ariana Feels the Bern

[Uncle Joe]

Ariana Grande, a petite woman with an over-sized ponytail, officially feels the Bern. In a tweet she posted on Wednesday, she called Sanders “MY GUY” and thanked him for coming to one of her shows, which is a sentence that I could have never imagined writing. What else will 2019 bring us?

Link to tweet

Grande included two photos with her tweet, including a black and white photo of the two of them hugging, in which Ariana looks ecstatic. Bernie looks pretty fucking happy, too! “i will never smile this hard again promise,” she wrote.

(snip)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, not to be outdone, then created a suggested playlist she called “progressive policies as an Ariana dance party,” to which Grande replied, “screaming screaming.” She’s a screamer, folks!

Link to tweet

(snip)

https://theslot.jezebel.com/ariana-feels-the-bern-1839968424

(snip)

[LongtimeAZDem]

1. Ariana Grande Says "I Hate Americans. I Hate America." After Appearing to Lick On-Display Doughnuts

I had to look her up, 'cause I'm old:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/ariana-grande-says-i-hate-807275

[The Valley Below]

2. Oh dear. Endorsements from an "I hate America" pop star and a democratic-socialist dictator

(who obviously feels the same way) all in one week. Can't be helpful.

[Uncle Joe]

5. Ariana meant she hated American obesity.

(snip)

Although Grande drew criticism for allegedly impolite interactions with reporters and fans in 2014,[214] she dismissed these reports as "weird, inaccurate depictions".[215] Rolling Stone wrote: "Some may cry 'diva', but it's also Grande just taking a stand to not allow others to control her image."[216] In July 2015, Grande was seen on surveillance video in a doughnut shop licking doughnuts that were on display and saying "I hate Americans. I hate America. This is disgusting", referring to a tray of doughnuts.[217] She apologized, writing that she is "extremely proud to be an American" and that her comments related to American obesity.[218] She later released a video apology for "behaving poorly".[219] The incident was parodied by The Muppets[220] and featured in Miley Cyrus' Saturday Night Live cover of "My Way", about the regrets of the summer of 2015.[221] Grande mocked the incident herself on Saturday Night Live in 2016, saying "A lot of kid stars end up doing drugs, or in jail, or pregnant, or get caught licking a doughnut they didn't pay for."[7][222]

Journalists and celebrities, such as Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and Rita Ora, commented favorably on Grande's "empowering" 2015 essay posted on Twitter decrying the double standard and misogyny in the focus of the press on female musicians' relationships and sex lives, instead of "their value as an individual".[223][224] Grande noted that she has "more to talk about" concerning her music and accomplishments, rather than her romantic relationships.[225][226] In 2016, E! writer Kendall Fisher called her "a feminist hero" in an essay examining Grande's feminist statements.[227] The same year, Grande was listed among Time's 100 most influential people in the world.[207] She was listed again in 2019.[228] She received praise for her "grace and strength" in organizing, hosting and performing at the One Love Manchester benefit concert.[229][230] Madeline Roth of MTV News wrote that the performance "bolstered courage among an audience that desperately needed it. ... Returning to the stage was a true act of bravery and resilience".[231] New York Magazine's Vulture section ranked the event as the No. 1 concert of 2017.[232] Also in 2017, Mitchell Harrison of Billboard magazine called Grande a "gay icon" for her LGBT-friendly lyrics, performances and "support for the LGBTQ community".[233] The same year, Celia Almeida wrote for Miami New Times:

(snip)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariana_Grande

here is a more complete picture on her character.

(snip)

At the age of ten, Grande co-founded the South Florida youth singing group Kids Who Care, which performed for charitable fund-raising events and raised over $500,000 for charities in 2007 alone.[265] In 2009, as a member of the charitable organization Broadway in South Africa, Grande, along with her brother Frankie, performed and taught music and dance to children in Gugulethu, South Africa.[266][267]

She was featured with Bridgit Mendler and Kat Graham in Seventeen magazine in a 2013 public campaign to end online bullying called "Delete Digital Drama".[268] After watching the film Blackfish that year, she urged fans to stop supporting SeaWorld.[5] In September 2014, Grande participated at the charitable Stand Up to Cancer television program, performing her song "My Everything" in memory of her grandfather, who had died of cancer that July.[269] Grande has adopted several rescue dogs as pets and promoted pet adoption at some of her concerts.[270] In 2016, she launched with MAC Cosmetics a line of lip shades called "Ariana Grande's MAC Viva Glam", the profits of which benefit people affected by HIV and AIDS.[271][272]

In 2015, Grande and Miley Cyrus performed a cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" as part of Cyrus' "Backyard Sessions" to benefit her Happy Hippie Foundation, which helps homeless and LGBT youths.[273] Later that year, Grande headlined the Dance On the Pier event, part of the LGBT Pride Week in New York City.[92][274] In 2016, Grande joined Madonna to raise funds for orphaned children in Malawi.[275] In 2016, Grande and Victoria Monét recorded "Better Days" in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.[276] To aid the victims of the Manchester Arena bombing, Grande organized the One Love Manchester concert, donated a rerelease of "One Last Time" and her live performance of "Over the Rainbow" at the concert, and released a live album of the concert.[230][277] The total amount raised was reportedly $23 million (more than £17 million).[128][132]

In September 2017, Grande performed in A Concert for Charlottesville, benefiting the victims of the August 2017 white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.[278] In March 2018, she participated in March for Our Lives to support gun control legislation.[279] Grande donated the proceeds from the first show in Atlanta on her Sweetener World Tour to Planned Parenthood in a response to a number of anti-abortion laws being passed in several states, including Georgia.[280][281]

(snip)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariana_Grande

[LongtimeAZDem]

18. Yeah, that's why she and her friends were in the shop licking the donuts. SMH

[Uncle Joe]

19. She did apologize but American marketing is definitely geared toward obesity. n/t

[LongtimeAZDem]

22. She apologized because she got caught on camera. Licking donuts that are out on trays

is disgusting and despicable, and American obesity has nothing to do with it.

[The Valley Below]

30. So fat-shaming obese Americans as opposed to hating America generally?

Is that an improvement of Ms Grande's position?

I dunno know.

[Uncle Joe]

31. The shaming is aimed at marketing. n/t

[The Valley Below]

32. By licking donuts? Seems like quite a stretch to me.

[demmiblue]

20. People grow and change, she is one of them. n/t

[TexasTowelie]

39. Actually, I believe that is a crime.

They threatened to charge the woman that licked the Blue Bell ice cream with a federal crime for tampering with a consumer product.

[Celerity]

40. that is well over 4 years ago,I was still a teen when that went down

she is staggeringly popular, over 300 million total social media followers

her Instagram Bernie post has over 2.1 millions likes in 4 hours

she has almost 170m followers on IG (2nd most in the world after CR7)

I am not a Bernie supporter, but this is a big pull.

[LiberalLovinLug]

56. And you actually believe she "hates" America, in the sense you imagine?

The country that sparked her career? You think she puts on a mask of being happy to live in the US, but actually gets up angry and hateful every day against the very country she was born in, and all the people in it?

Or do you think maybe it was said in a tongue in cheek generalized way on American sugar and fat addiction, by a young person, in a setting where she assumed no one was listening but her friends (who would understand her "joke" )?

My gawd, she's a remarkable young talented American woman, who has registered over 20,000 new voters, and unknown number influenced by her twitter account.

But she dared to support someone other than Biden. The horror. So you must find her one biggest flawed moment caught on film to try and smear her reputation and patriotism. Nice.

[TexasTowelie]

3. I guess this might influence a small group of individuals,

but are they registered to vote and can they be bothered to go to the polls?

[NurseJackie]

7. Just rallies.

but are they registered to vote and can they be bothered to go to the polls?

Just rallies.

[Uncle Joe]

8. I believe Ariana has influence with more than a "small group of individuals."

Ariana Grande-Butera (/ˌɑːriˈɑːnə ˈɡrɑːndeɪ/; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. A multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her wide vocal range, which critics have often compared to that of Mariah Carey. Born in Boca Raton, Florida, Grande began her career in 2008 in the Broadway musical, 13. She rose to prominence for her role as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series, Victorious (2010–2013) and in its spin-off, Sam & Cat (2013–2014). As she grew interested in pursuing a music career, Grande recorded songs for the soundtrack of Victorious and signed with Republic Records in 2011 after the label's executives discovered videos of her covering songs that she uploaded onto YouTube. She released her debut album, Yours Truly, in 2013. A 1950s doo-wop-influenced pop and R&B album, it debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and spawned her first US top-ten single, "The Way", featuring rapper Mac Miller.

Grande's second studio album, My Everything (2014), continued the pop-R&B sound of its predecessor and incorporated EDM elements. It topped the Billboard 200 and featured four US top-ten singles: "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang", and "Love Me Harder", the most of any artist that year. Grande's pop-R&B styles extended on her third studio album, Dangerous Woman (2016), which was her first of three consecutive number-one albums in the UK, and spawned two US top-ten singles such as the Grammy nominated title track and "Side to Side". On her next two albums, Sweetener (2018) and Thank U, Next (2019), Grande experimented with trap while maintaining her characteristic pop-R&B tones; both debuted at number one in several countries and were acclaimed by music critics. The former won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album and spawned the international top three single "No Tears Left to Cry", while the latter was nominated for Album of the Year at the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards and broke several streaming records upon release. Grande became the first solo artist to hold the top three spots on the Billboard Hot 100 simultaneously when "7 Rings", "Break Up with Your Girlfriend, I'm Bored" and "Thank U, Next" did so in 2019. The first two made Grande the first woman in the UK to succeed herself at the top spot. She is also the first artist to have the lead singles from each of their first five studio albums debut within the top ten in the US.

Grande has received various accolades, including one Grammy Award, one Brit Award, two Billboard Music Awards, three American Music Awards, and several Guinness World Records. All five of Grande's full-length albums have been certified platinum or better by the RIAA. As one of the leading streaming pioneers in the world, she has amassed over 40 billion streams on platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Music. She is the most followed female on the two former, while being the most listened female on the latter two. An influential figure on social media, she is an outspoken feminist and supporter for LGBT rights. She asserts control over her public image and is known for her ponytail hairdo and bold fashion statements. In February 2019, she became the most followed woman on Instagram. Forbes ranked her amongst the highest-paid celebrities in 2019, and Time named Grande as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016 and 2019. Billboard recognized her as the "Woman of the Year" in 2018, and declared her the most successful female artist to debut in the 2010s in 2019.

(snip)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariana_Grande

As to how many will vote, only time will tell.

[JonLP24]

15. She claims to have registered 20K voters at her shows

Either way that is good for Democrats.

Link to tweet

[TexasTowelie]

25. Only 20,000+?

That's a relative blip since most of the venues that she performs at seat 15,000-20,000 people and that she usually has at least three concerts a week.

Celebrity endorsements are a dime a dozen anyways.

[JonLP24]

26. I think HeadCount Org is doing good work

We use music+culture to engage Americans with democracy. We've registered over 600K voters at concerts, music festivals & online since 2004.

Italics are HeadCount's words.

Just because they are registered doesn't necessarily mean they will vote for Bernie Sanders. It is far more than I registered. I donate & retweet on Twitter that is my contribution to the campaign.

[TexasTowelie]

36. I wonder if that 600,000 number is unique voters

or simply people that moved, let their voter registration lapse, or just weren't certain of their status so they completed the registration form again? That number is also over a 15 year period so that averages at 40,000 voters a year.

Meanwhile, Arianna Grande says she registered over 20,000 (I admit that we don't know if this is an annual number for 2019 or cumulative).

For some reason the numbers don't really seem in sync.

Personally, I would have my doubts about whether any registration form that I completed at a concert venue would be received by the secretary of state, or if that if they were delivered in a batch that they wouldn't be discarded. However, that's just me and my cynical nature.

[betsuni]

52. Many, if not most, of her fans are too young to vote.

She supported Hillary last time and I think she'll support whoever is our nominee this time, too.

[SMC22307]

54. Kinda like Katy Perry's influence? (n/t)

[TexasTowelie]

55. Well, Katy has more followers on Twitter if that is the metric that we're going to use to measure it

Most popular Twitter accounts. Top 10 most followed Twitter accounts (2019)

2 Top 10 most followed Twitter accounts
2.1 Katy Perry
2.2 Barack Obama
2.3 Justin Bieber
2.4 Rihanna
2.5 Taylor Swift
2.6 Cristiano Ronaldo
2.7 Lady Gaga
2.8 Ellen DeGeneres
2.9 YouTube
2.10 Ariana Grande

https://www.tweetbinder.com/blog/top-twitter-accounts/

Of the people on that list, the only endorsement that would influence me would be President Obama.

[George II]

4. If that was Joe Biden in those photographs I can just imagine the comments.

[The Valley Below]

11. LOL. No kidding.

[LiberalLovinLug]

57. No kidding is right

You'd be singing her praises to the hills!

[Uncle Joe]

17. Reciprocity is a critical consideration. n/t

[melman]

23. Seems like a simple enough concept

Odd that some wouldn't get that.

[Uncle Joe]

24. I hear you melman,

unfortunately that seems to be a too common malady in our society.

Peace to you.

[George II]

45. Odd indeed!

[melman]

46. Oof

So bad. So so bad.

[George II]

47. How so?

[melman]

49. Sorry

Not going to play that game. You know perfectly well what's bad about that.

[George II]

50. Thanks for (incorrectly) telling me what I know. You probably (see, I said "PROBABLY"!) know....

....the logistics and circumstances behind that photo of Biden and Flores.

[George II]

44. You should tell that to Lucy Flores.

[Uncle Joe]

48. The message is universal George.

[George II]

53. Does that mean that Lucy Flores got the message?

[sheshe2]

27. I was just going to post that.

Just imagine. I mean, sure my dad hugged me as well. However not like that or with me wearing a leather bra.

[JoeOtterbein]

6. K n R

Go Bernie!

[TidalWave46]

9. I would take that endorsement.

[Uncle Joe]

38. As would I TidalWave.

[Donkees]

10. Oct 25 ...

Link to tweet

[Uncle Joe]

12. 662 thousand likes! dayum!

Thanks for the addition Donkees.

[Celerity]

33. her post on this on Instagram has over 2 million likes in 4 hours

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5Gdmptl3dB/

[Uncle Joe]

35. Thanks for the addition Celerity.

[Celerity]

37. she has over 300 million total social media followers, almost 170 million on Instagram (2nd most in

the world after CR7) alone.

[Celerity]

41. I love anything that helps GOTV with my age cohort nt

[Zorro]

13. Looks like the Bern feels Ariana, too!

[NurseJackie]

14. Oh dear!

[Scurrilous]

58. ...

[demmiblue]

16. Ariana is good people.

I remember the Manchester Arena bombing and her response to it (meeting with the victims & hosting a benefit concert).

One Love Manchester
Main article: One Love Manchester

On 4 June, Ariana Grande hosted a benefit concert in Manchester, entitled "One Love Manchester" at Old Trafford Cricket Ground that was broadcast live on television, radio and social media. At the concert, Grande performed along with several other high-profile artists. Free tickets were offered to those who had attended the show on 22 May.[134] The benefit concert and associated Red Cross fund raised £10 million for victims of the attack by early June[135][136] and £17 million by August.[137] New York Magazine's Vulture section ranked the event as the No. 1 concert of 2017.[138]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manchester_Arena_bombing#One_Love_Manchester

[Uncle Joe]

21. Thanks for the addition demmiblue.

[EmInColorado]

28. This is an absolutely huge endorsement

She has over 67 MILLION followers on Twitter.

That is some Godly reach. Think of how many people are seeing her message. It's mind blowing. Think of many people are seeing an endorsement for a Dem candidate running for POTUS. Holy smokes folks!

And let us not forget that it was her concert which was attacked by a suicide bomber which killed 22 people.
Manchester Arena Suicide Bombing: 22 Die at Ariana Grande Concert -- https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/deaths-injuries-confirmed-after-explosions-heard-u-k-concert-featuring-n763286

It's great so many people are hearing this about one of our candidates

[Uncle Joe]

29. Welcome to D.U EmInColorado, check out Donkees post #10 on this thread,

that's a pretty high "like" count!

[Dagstead Bumwood]

34. Bernie at an AG concert?

Why am I flashing to that scene from Madonna's Truth or Dare where Costner calls her show 'neat?'

[Kurt V.]

51. not exactly sure who that is but yay!

[Celerity]

59. One of the biggest female singers in the world atm, along with Taylor Swift, Beyonce, and Rihanna

Over 300 million social media flowers across all platforms (with some overlap, obviously.) Only Cristiano Ronaldo has more Instagram followers in the world.

[brooklynite]

60. Why is a celebrity endorsement valuable?

[Uncle Joe]

61. Because more people are familiar with celebrities than with the average person,

so their voice and influence can be greater.