Even if you haven't paid any attention to politics in recent weeks and months—very unlikely—you probably know of all the celebrities who lined up behind the two presidential candidates in the U.S. election (mostly behind one of them). Here is a far-from-complete but impressive list: Bad Bunny, Jennifer Aniston, Bruce Springsteen, Oprah, Jennifer Lopez, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Usher, Lizzo, Eminem, LeBron James, and, most recently, Harrison Ford.

But will it make a difference? Does it make a difference for the voter that an actor, a musician, or a basketball player supports one candidate, rather than another? Or is news about celebrity endorsements just the ultimate clickbait, appealing both to political news junkies and to celebrity gossip fans?

And if celebrity endorsements do work, why and how do they work? What is the psychology of celebrity endorsements?

I want to turn to an unlikely authority........

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