In a nod to the 20 projected Electoral College votes from Pennsylvania that delivered Joe Biden a projected victory Friday morning against President Donald Trump, Spike Lee celebrated the news by posting a clip of Elton John’s “Philadelphia Freedom” on Instagram. “This Long Wait Is OVAH. FINALLY. Onward And Upward. Peace, Justice And Love,” Lee wrote.
A post shared by Spike Lee (@officialspikelee) on Nov 7, 2020 at 8:41am PST Lee was among the indie filmmakers, actors, and Hollywood figures who quickly took to social media to react to the news that Biden had been elected 46th president. CNN and NBC News were among the first to project Biden’s win over Trump on Saturday morning. They both called Pennsylvania and its 20 electoral votes for Biden, bringing Biden’s electoral vote total to 273. Many users also took time to celebrate that Biden’s running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, would become the first woman vice president.
As a Democrat, Biden was a strong favorite among filmmakers and others in creative fields, the same people who have spent the last four years rallying against the policies and behavior of Trump and more recently raising money for Biden. Biden’s campaign stressed the importance of national unity, civility, and repudiating many of Trump’s policies that were enacted over the last four years. Though Biden and Trump differed on practically all policy issues, one of their starkest differences revolved around their ideas on how to manage the coronavirus pandemic: While Trump lied to the public about the threat of the coronavirus, rejected scientific consensus, and failed to enact measures to mitigate the pandemic’s damage, Biden touted a science-oriented approach and stressed the importance of mask wearing, social distancing, and other safety measures. The strong tension between Trump and Hollywood showed its face last last month when government documents detailed the Trump administration’s plan to seek out celebrities to talk about COVID-19. The documents included dossiers on 274 celebrities, including their positions on gun legislation, abortion rights, and same-sex marriage. Many of those views, of course, were firmly to the left of Trump. Despite his unpopularity in entertainment, Trump counts usual suspects Kid Rock, Roseanne Barr, Jon Voight, Kirstie Alley, and Scott Baio among his supporters. Michael Moore, who predicted a Trump victory in 2016 and more recently warned the president was on track to win a second term, was among the first to share his jubilation over Biden’s victory online.
— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) November 7, 2020
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) November 7, 2020
— Megan Amram (@meganamram) November 7, 2020
— SXSW (@sxsw) November 7, 2020
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) November 7, 2020
— Arianna Huffington (@ariannahuff) November 7, 2020
— Josh Fox VoteBiden (@joshfoxfilm) November 7, 2020
— Seth Rogen (@Sethrogen) November 7, 2020
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) November 7, 2020
— Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@OfficialJLD) November 7, 2020
— Patricia Arquette (@PattyArquette) November 7, 2020
— Americana at Brand Memes (@americanamemes) November 7, 2020
— Chris Evans (@ChrisEvans) November 7, 2020
— Lulu Wang (@thumbelulu) November 7, 2020
— Cynthia Nixon (@CynthiaNixon) November 7, 2020
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) November 7, 2020
— Taika Waititi (@TaikaWaititi) November 7, 2020
— Cher (@cher) November 7, 2020
Cc: @realDonaldTrump — Kumail Nanjiani (@kumailn) November 7, 2020
A post shared by Lizzo (@lizzobeeating) on Nov 7, 2020 at 10:50am PST
— Norman Lear (@TheNormanLear) November 7, 2020 Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
