Bon Iver Loves Socialism, and Other Adventures in Celebrity Campaign Contributions

By Anna Merlan and Molly Osberg | December 27, 2019 | 9:00pm

News Politics

Bon Iver Loves Socialism, and Other Adventures in Celebrity Campaign Contributions

Our election season is entirely, brutally too long—one of the many idiotic things about our country. Another bad thing is the virtually unchecked role of money in politics. You know what’s fun, though? Looking up celebrities in the Federal Election Commission database and judging them based on whose presidential campaign they’re choosing to support. While the Daily Dot has a very thorough roundup of which famous rich people are bafflingly into Pete Buttigieg, there are a few more notables worth pointing out for each campaign.

This list will be updated as we crawl deeper into the hell that is the 2020 election cycle. It was most recently updated on December 27th, 2019.

Elizabeth Warren

Amanda Palmer donated $500 to Warren, only four years after accidentally murdering the entire Jezebel staff. Justin Vernon, better known as the bearded cabin man who loved “Emma” and made a record as Bon Iver, donated $2,800. David Pierce, who played Dr. Niles on Frasier, also donated $2,800. Bonnie Raitt gave $500.00. Rosie O’Donnell, who has publicly backed Warren as a person who knows how to “handle that baby in the White House,” has given $855.03 to the campaign to date. Donald Fagen of Steely Dan gave $250. Bette Midler gave $2,800.

Joe Biden

Mallory Lewis, the creator of Lambchop, donated $2,800 to Biden for President. Dionne Warwick has given $400 so Biden so far. Paul Penta, who appears to be a musician who plays banjo in a band called The Elderly Brothers, has donated $296 to the Biden campaign. Gete Cotton gave $440. This all feels very appropriate for reasons I can’t quite name.

Michael Bloomberg

Bloomberg, who has an estimated net worth around $56 billion, has vowed to not accept political donations. Good for him, I suppose.

Bernie Sanders

Our friend Bon Iver, who also gave to Warren, gave $2,800. Danny DeVito donated $2,700 to Sanders. Susan Sarandon donated $2,800. Someone named Austin Hargrave also donated $54 to Sanders, and I mention this because, upon googling Hargrave, I learned that he goes by “PeanutButterGamer” and has 2 million YouTube subscribers. Do not get old, like me. Dan Castellaneta, who played Homer Simpson, gave $2,500. Mark Ruffalo has given $550 in total to the Sanders campaign. Michael Hall has given $704.70. Rostam Batmanglij of Vampire Weekend gave $250. Christopher Shiflett of the Foo Fighters donated $2,000.

Andrew Yang

Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo is in the Yang Gang, having given him $1,000. So is Netflix hearthrob teen and Person I Definitely Didn’t Just Have to Google Noah Centineo, who gave Yang $2,700 total. And of course—inevitably, delightfully—Nicolas Cage gave him $1,000. Jack Dorsey gave $2,800.

Tulsi Gabbard

Susan Sarandon has donated $500 to Gabbard (as well as her larger donation to Sanders, above.) James Adomian, a comedian who does a convincing Jesse Ventura and a convincing Bernie Sanders, gave $500.

Pete Buttigieg

Buttigieg is extremely beloved by celebs, per TMZ, including: John Stamos, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anna Wintour, Sarah Silverman, Ted Danson, Sharon Stone, and George Takei. FEC records show Alyssa Milano has cumulatively donated $3,050.00 to Buttigieg, and Chaz Bono donated $100. Milano was recently very excited to meet Pete:

Ellen Pompeo gave $2,800, as did Jennifer Garner and Michael J Fox.

Marianne Williamson

Considering Oprah and Kim Kardashian have both been charged up by Williamson’s special energy, it’s not exactly surprising that the campaign has attracted its share of celebrity backers. Bette Midler, who gave the maximum of $2,800 to both Harris and Warren, kicked Williamson $1,000. Dave Navarro, of the Foo Fighters, also donated a grand. Actor Andrea Kay “Missi” Pyle gave $565. Frances Fisher gave Williamson $1,000 as recently as November.

Donald Trump

Our current president is, for some reason, sparsely represented among actors and entertainers hoping to part with their money. But a comedian named Chonda Pierce gave him $75 early in the race, and since then he’s received a respectable $2,000 from Priscilla Taylor, a model and actress.

Cory Booker

Jon Bon Jovi has given Booker $5,600 total, and also hosted a fundraiser for him in March. Kevin Bacon gave him $2,800. Rosario Dawson, who is evidently dating the man, initially gave him $500. That feels exquisitely rude and I respect it, honestly, though she later donated more. Orlando Bloom and Jamie Lee Curtis gave Booker $1,000 each.

Steve Bullock

I know — who? Steve Bullock was the governor of Montana and I mention him here only because Jeff Bridges gave him $500.00 in June through ActBlue. He has since dropped out of the race.

Bill de Blasio

FEC data shows that Steve Buscemi donated $2,800 to the de Blasio 2020 campaign, a campaign that would sink to the bottom of the ocean shortly after. The two appear to be buds, or at least have probably run into each other at the Park Slope YMCA.

Buscemi appears to be the only actor who donated to de Blasio’s campaign. Sounds right!

Kamala Harris

Before Harris dropped out of the race, Reese Witherspoon donated $2,250. Jon Hamm donated $1,000. Chris Rock gave her $2,800. Important Berkeley Novelist Michael Chabon gave her $2,700. Busy Phillips gave her $2,000. Bette Midler gave $2,800. George Lopez, a longtime supporter, gave Harris $2,800. Ben Affleck gave her $2,800.

Kirsten Gillibrand

Reese Witherspoon, who appears to be playing the field for the time being, gave $2,800 to Gillibrand’s campaign. (Interestingly, Witherspoon is one of a handful of actors who list themselves in FEC data as “entertainer,” not “actor,” making her a bit harder to find.) Rachel Dratch donated $500.

Against all odds Serious Writer Man Michael Chabon lives in a delightful craftsman in Berkeley, not Brooklyn. Best of luck to him repping literary dreams for the West Coast; Jezebel regrets the error.