A campaign advertisement featuring the voice of Hollywood actress Julia Roberts, advocating for the Harris-Walz ticket, has sparked a wave of criticism.
The ad, commissioned by the progressive evangelical group "Vote Common Good," encourages women to vote independently of their husbands.
According to Fox News, the ad features Roberts stating, "In the one place in America where women still have a right to choose, you can vote any way you want, and no one will ever know." The ad then depicts two women casting their votes for Harris-Walz. Upon meeting their husbands, one man inquires, "Did you make the right choice?" to which his wife confidently replies, "Sure did, honey." Roberts concludes the ad with the line, "Remember, what happens in the booth, stays in the booth. Vote Harris-Walz."
However, the ad's message has been met with widespread derision, with critics labeling it as out-of-touch and misguided. Boyce College Professor Denny Burk took to social media to express his disdain, stating, "Julia Roberts does the voice-over for this execrable political ad. The gist of it is this: Since men like your husband have taken away your right to choose abortion, you can stick it to them by exercising your right to choose Harris-Walz."
Author and columnist Caryn Sullivan echoed Burk's sentiments, advising women, "Don't be that woman." In a separate post, she criticized the ad for encouraging women to deceive their husbands, stating, "This ad featuring actress Julia Roberts encourages women to defy or lie to their husbands because the end (abortion) justifies the means. A fitting way to end a campaign marked by dishonesty and false claims of unity."
The ad's reception on social media was equally negative, with one user commenting, "If you have to lie to your spouse about voting that is the least of your problems" Another user called the ad "absurdly condescending," while a third pointed out the ad's implicit assumption that only Republicans display patriotic imagery and American flags.
Doug Pagitt, a pastor and the executive director of Vote Common Good, disclosed to the Wall Street Journal that the group spent approximately $30,000 on the ad.
Roberts, a vocal supporter of the Harris-Walz campaign, recently returned to her hometown of Smyrna, Georgia, to rally voters. She expressed her hope that women would encourage men to vote for Harris-Walz, stating, "Let's just get it going, enough with the fighting. Let's get to the uniting, let's get to the joy, let's get to the repair, let's get to prices dropping, rents dropping. Let's get to the good stuff so we can start living our lives to the fullest potential that we have."
In addition to her advocacy, Roberts, alongside actor George Clooney, hosted a Democratic campaign event in June that raised over $30 million, marking it as the largest Democratic fundraiser in history, according to the Biden campaign. Despite these efforts, the controversial ad serves as a stark reminder of the divisive nature of politics and the potential pitfalls of celebrity endorsements.
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