Julia Roberts has recorded a campaign ad for a political action committee supporting Kamala Harris. “In the one place in America which still has a right to choose, you can vote any way you want and nobody will ever know. . . What happens in the [polling] booth, stays in the booth,” the Hollywood star says in a confidential voice. “Did you vote the right way, honey?” a seemingly friendly but controlling husband asks on camera. “I sure did,” his wife replies with a knowing smile.
Democrat hopes of victory rest on the premise that women are going to kick Trump firmly in the ballots, where it hurts. But women are not shouting their support for Harris from the rooftops in the way that men bellowed their approval of Trump at Madison Square Garden on Sunday. Arguably, the Roberts advertisement is deeply sexist, portraying American women as if they were stuck in the 1950s, under the heel of their men and rebelling privately in the only way they can. It is an odd way to promote a female candidate with a 50-50 chance of making history as America’s first woman president.
