As we know, Angelina Jolieis a Spelman Momsince her daughter, Zahara, began school at Spelman College, an HBCU, in August. This past weekend was the combined “Spelhouse” homecoming of Spelman College and Moorehouse College in Atlanta (they are not co-ed schools). Angie showed up for Zahara:

Many people noted that she showed up minus security, and was just walking around—outside!—with Zahara. The implication being, Angelina is chill, she can roll like any proud college mom, she’s just one of the crowd.

They’re super cute. But one photo drew particular notice, as Zahara was pictured holding aStacey Abrams For Governorsign.

Abrams is once again running opposite Republican Brian Kemp, now the incumbent. He’s currently leading Abrams in the polls. Georgia has become one of the most-watched states in the US when it comes to elections, in large part because of a clash between deep-rooted Republican voters being increasingly challenged by a swelling progressive population, and also because of, er, rigorous voting laws that often make itmore difficult for Black voters to get to the polls. Abrams is credited with helping deliver Georgia for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, along with the Senate and Rev. Raphael Warnock, who occupies a crucial Democratic seat (and is currently running for re-election against Herschel Walker), but she struggles in her own election bids, which many—including me—blame on systemic inequity in the voting process that disenfranchises BIPOC voters.

I don’t expect that Angelina and Zahara will move the needle much for Abrams. Generally, no one listens to celebrities when it comes to voting. And the larger effect of celebrity endorsement in politics has probably been damning, as all it does is remind one side the cool kids don’t sit at their table. You think I’m joking, but the number of times I’ve heard a conservative express some variation of the sentiment that “they”—Hollywood, entertainment, creative industry at large—are “against” them because of how many celebrities are openly liberal is innumerable. That’s what all the yelling about “wokeness” in entertainment is really about, there are a troubling number of people who do not like being reminded in any capacity that their values are not actually, despite what 24-hour news channels will make you think, the majority values.

It’s one reasonhimpathywill work for Brad Pitt in the public sphere: there are a lot of people who will eagerly glom onto him because that mean lady is “abusing” him by “turning” their kids against him. It’s a narrative misogynists love, and even if Brad Pitt’s personal values don’t align with it, he will still benefit from it in his image management (will maybe even encourage it, a shocking number of people will chuck their values out the window if it means getting one over on someone they don’t like). Anyway, everything is terrible and our entire electoral system is broken and the whole state of Georgia, conservatives, too, would undoubtedly do better under Stacey Abrams’ leadership but none of it matters. We’re either going to survive the current political temper tantrum being thrown by a bunch of diaper babies, or we’re not.