Why Aren’t Influencers Talking About Roe v. Wade?

Since Politico published a leaked version of a Supreme Court majority decision draft potentially overturning Roe v. Wade, many mainstream celebrities have come forward to publicly state their support for abortion rights. Harry Styles posted in support of Roe v. Wade on his instagram stories, Phoebe Bridgers spoke movingly about having had her own abortion while on tour, and Olivia Rodrigo spoke out against the Supreme Court’s decision on her Sour tour. One class of public figures that has not taken a stand either in support of or against the decision, however, is influencers, who have largely stuck to posting pics from the Met Gala or hair gummy spon con in lieu of weighing in on the abortion rights debate.

This week on Don’t Let This Flop, Rolling Stone‘s podcast about internet culture cohosted by Brittany Spanos and Ej Dickson, we contacted more than 20 top-tier Instagram and TikTok influencers to see if they would make a statement on abortion rights in the United States. The list, culled together from top 20 lists on Forbes and Hollywood Branded, included the names of such luminaries as Charli D’Amelio, Addison Rae, Bella Poarch, David Dobrik, Emma Chamberlain, and PewDiePie.

Of the influencers we reached out to, only a couple got back to us: the PR representative for makeup artist turned fitness influencer Bretman Rock. “We’ll need to politely pass at this time due to him being unavailable on set for his MTV show and not doing any press at the moment,” the representative for Rock said. A representative for Josh Richards, a former member of the Tiktok collab house Sway House who is now the chief strategy officer of Tiktok competitor Triller, also declined to comment. None of the other influencers (or their representatives) we reached out to even responded to our request for comment.  

In some respects, it’s not unusual that influencers would bow out of the discussion over an issue as contentious as the reproductive rights debate. Top-tier influencers partner with high-end brands on collabs, often commanding as much as six figures for a single sponsored post, and many likely harbor concerns about alienating members of their audience. There’s also been extensive debate as to whether famous people even should weigh in on issues of national or global politics, as evidenced by the faux pas made by celebrities like Annalynne McCord, John Cena, and Andy Cohen following the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year. Yet with big names like Styles and Bridgers coming out in favor of reproductive rights, one hopes that celebrities like D’Amelio and Rae will ultimately harness their massive followings and follow suit – even if we may not ultimately agree with what they have to say.

This week on DLTF, Spanos and Dickson also discuss Jack Harlow being horny for Dua Lipa, Chet Hanks’s latest shameful appearance in the viral news cycle, and a himbo who keeps an eel pit in his basement.

DLTF is released Wednesdays on all audio streaming platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Stitcher, and more.

From Rolling Stone US.