Celebrities rail against Trump's policies — but hesitate to say his name

After years of launching blistering attacks on President Trump, much of Hollywood appears to be casting him in a new "Harry Potter"-inspired role: He Who Must Not Be Named.

Rather than blast Trump by name, many of his celebrity critics are instead zipping their lips when it comes to mentioning the 47th president.

From Lady Gaga to Alicia Keys and Shakira, plenty of stars took to the stage at Sunday's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles to speak out about hot-button issues, including transgender rights, immigration and anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. But none of the music artists name-checked Trump while railing against some of his administration's core focuses.

Even Grammys host Trevor Noah offered up a Trump-related punchline, minus actually speaking the president's name.

"Yesterday, Beyoncé announced her new tour,” Noah said on the CBS broadcast. “I will say though, Beyoncé, there’s tariffs. We can’t afford a new tour. Maple syrup is about to be $50," Noah said, referring to tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China that had been threatened by Trump.

"Everybody's sort of radio silent in terms of mentioning Trump's name," noted Mark Harvey, an associate professor and the director of graduate business programs at the University of Saint Mary.

The approach from many in the entertainment world just weeks into Trump's second term is in stark contrast to Hollywood's reaction to the commander in chief following his White House win in 2016. A day after Trump's 2017 inauguration, a who's who of Hollywood — including Madonna, Scarlett Johansson and America Ferrera — joined protesters and denounced the new president at the Women's March on Washington and in other U.S. cities.

"There's a night and day difference" between then and now, said Harvey.

The first Trump era was marked by celebs making headlines as they assailed Trump on a regular basis. In 2016, singer Cher dubbed Trump a "f‑‑‑ing idiot," saying she wished the then-GOP presidential nominee would "fall off the face of the Earth." Comedian Kathy Griffin posed for a controversial photo in 2017 with a bloodied, decapitated fake head meant to resemble the president. Robert De Niro received a standing ovation from the audience at the Tony Awards in 2018 after repeatedly declaring "f‑‑‑ Trump" onstage.

But in interviews since his November reelection, performers have kept Trump's name out of the conversation.

“The main thing is I have so much compassion and love for so many people that are afraid today,” Lady Gaga said in an interview with Elle UK conducted just days after Trump's win, which the "Born This Way" singer said she "prayed" wouldn't happen.

Eva Longoria similarly didn't utter Trump's name while expressing dissatisfaction with him winning the 2024 race against then-Vice President Harris in a November interview with Marie Claire, saying, “The shocking part is not that he won."

“It’s that a convicted criminal who spews so much hate could hold the highest office,” said the former "Desperate Housewives" star, who campaigned for Harris and spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

These days, said Harvey, Hollywood seems to be reflecting an attitude of "we've been here before, we've seen this before."

"What we did last time wasn't having an impact, so maybe we should do things differently now," Harvey, the author of "Celebrity Influence: Politics, Persuasion and Issue-Based Advocacy," said of what Trump's bevy of star-studded critics could be thinking.

Many famous faces, Harvey said, likely find themselves in a similar predicament right now as the Democratic Party itself.

"If you compare 2016 to now — the slightest thing, every executive order, everything — had an outraged response. You could argue this was a justifiable outrage, but it also didn't matter," Harvey said.

"[Celebrities] spoke out, and they felt probably by now that some of that was ineffective. I think they're being more choosy about their outrage or how they're going about this. This is going to have to be less about Donald Trump, and more about the issues."

It's a reset that, knowingly or not, echoes a change in messaging that Democrats adopted as part of their 2018 agenda ahead of the midterm elections. In messaging documents released in 2017, Trump's name was not mentioned a single time.

“People need to know not only what we’re fighting against,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said at the time. “They need to know what we’re fighting for.”

Some big names have been open about utilizing a Lord Voldemort-like approach to Trump's name. In J.K. Rowling's famed "Harry Potter" series, the villain is rarely referred to by his name by the other characters out of fear and worry of retribution.

"I think it might be irresponsible to give him attention," Stephen Colbert said of Trump in 2021.

While "there’s no avoiding him as a subject,” the "Late Show" host said of the then-ex-president, “He shouldn’t be [an] essential subject because I think that merely empowers him in some way. That’s why I don’t like saying his name, or showing his picture, if possible.”

Colbert made an appeal to his show's viewers to submit alternative name suggestions for Trump on social media using the hashtag #HeWhoShallBeNamed. The late-night host began saying "Trump" again on his CBS program in 2023.

"The View" co-host Whoopi Goldberg also adopted a personal "don't speak his name" Trump policy on the ABC daytime talk show.

"He’s the president. I’m still not going to say his name. That’s not going to change," Goldberg told viewers a day after the 2024 presidential election.

Harvey noted that there are only certain circumstances in which celebrities can exert political influence. While they may fill up movie theaters and concert halls, superstars "are not good at convincing people on issues that are highly polemic."

"Celebrities can't get people to give up their guns. Celebrities can't get people to change their mind on abortion," Harvey said. "Do you think they're going to change anybody's mind on Donald Trump? Probably not."

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