Senate Dems Post Desperate Chappell Roan Tweet, Get Immediately Roasted
Users were not feeling a tweet from the Senate Democrats’ X account on Monday, in which the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) used a Chappell Roan song in what’s being viewed a cringe-inducing, desperate-seeming attempt to inspire people to vote.
The account tweeted, “H-O-T-T-O-V-O-T-E!” in a play on words from the singer-songwriter' chorus. Roan, who identifies as queer and occasionally performs in drag, released her single “HOT TO GO!” last year.
Some users were quick to point out in the replies that using a song by a queer artist to get out the vote felt inauthentic, amid ongoing criticism that institutions often only spotlight LGBTQ+ people and issues when it benefits them.
It doesn’t even fit the cadence of the song! At least Pokémon go to the polls didn’t happen in the immediate aftermath of something awful! They’d throw Chappell Roan to the wolves as a scary gay person in a second! I hate them less than Republicans but I hate Democrats so much!
— John Fleming (@johnjf125) July 1, 2024
Others pointed out that the cringiness of the Dems’ tweet called to mind the awkward “Pokémon Go to the polls” phrase Hillary Clinton used in 2016, when the mobile game was at its height in popularity.
Many users posted memes of photos from pop culture indicating bleak, depressive thoughts in response to the party stooping to this level to pander to voters. One even theorized that the whole ordeal is so humiliating it can only be explained as an intentional stunt.
As if this isn’t embarrassing enough, it doesn’t even go with the music https://t.co/0cesJvTx8I pic.twitter.com/x7Nb5TBAdH
— Tom Zohar (@TomZohar) July 1, 2024
https://t.co/xOLHKFNbxu pic.twitter.com/SQiMfe5UFv
— Rebecca Alter (@ralter) July 1, 2024
cadence wrong, joke format wrong, AND chappell literally turned down an invite from this white house . Pokemon-go-to-the-polls ass behavior https://t.co/KXKxr1eZBO
— kelsey mckinney (@mckinneykelsey) July 1, 2024
OK, so I've decided this is rage bait designed to get us dunking so that the algorithm puts more Senate Democrats tweets on our feeds. Four-dimensional chess... https://t.co/W8Vir1O2ag
— Louis Peitzman (@LouisPeitzman) July 1, 2024
https://t.co/q56YYLei6i pic.twitter.com/JfUn38nNQ1
— Ben Rosen (@ben_rosen) July 1, 2024
Roan had previously been invited to perform at the White House for Pride this year, but turned down the opportunity—saying later at a Governors Ball Music Festival performance that she turned it down because “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all,” and “When [they] do that, that’s when I’ll come.”
X users echoed the dissatisfaction Roan expressed when the tweet as soon as the DSCC's tweet went live. Said one, “that’s not how the song goes.”
Glad to see such a hardline, serious response to the Supreme Court legalizing bribery and fascist rule. You know, the kind of stuff that makes voting pointless.
Also, that's not how the song goes.— The Content Industry (@phantom_cruiser) July 1, 2024
We’ve reached out to Roan’s team for comment on the Dems’ use of her song in their social post.
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