These Celebrities Have a Lot of Thoughts About the Supreme Court Shakeup
Yesterday, the already-frenzied news cycle amped up to a new level with Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement that he will be retiring from the Supreme Court. That means that President Donald Trump will now have the chance to nominate a second judge, after already placing Justice Neil Gorsuch on the highest court in the land not long after his inauguration.
Justice Kennedy is one of the conservative members of the court, but he has been a swing vote (siding with the liberals) on a number of key issues like abortion rights and gay marriage. His Trump-nominated replacement is expected to make the court much more conservative—and many are concerned about what that means for the future of Roe v. Wade and other cases.
Which is why some of Hollywood’s most famous, and outspoken, celebrities are taking to social media to make their opinions known and calling on their followers to take action.
Olivia Wilde, never one to shy away from speaking her mind, was very blunt in tweeting, “Let’s be clear: it is not a question of abortions or no abortions. It is only a question of whether women will die having them.”
Debra Messing posted an Instagram video—wearing a “Badass Feminist” shirt—pledging that she is ready to dig in and fight. “If Trump gets one of his nominees in we are looking at Roe v Wade being overturned,” she wrote. “Gay marriage overturned. It would be terrible for Union members, and everyone who needs affordable health care. Civil Rights as we know them will be chipped away. PLEASE commit to fighting this.”
Some, like comedian Billy Eichner, were just sad—while Cher was her usual fired up (and all caps) self.
Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness tweeted, “Omg can we do that cute unconstitutional thing again where we stall on nominees until the next election?” (He’s referring to the time Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to hold hearings on then-President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee, Merrick Garland, in 2016 because it was an election year.)
Of course, there was a Handmaid’s Tale reference.
https://twitter.com/WhitneyCummings/status/1012054966356213760
Kathy Griffin is depending on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Alyssa Milano and Chelsea Handler want people to keep hope—and also VOTE.
https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano/status/1012329812512464896
https://twitter.com/chelseahandler/status/1012085231971692545
Wherever you stand on the issue, be prepared to see your social media feeds jammed with talk of SCOTUS and judicial nominees for the foreseeable future.