Liz Phair Quotes

In 2003, I wrote a New York Times best-seller called 'Shut Up & Sing,' in which I criticized celebrities like the Dixie Chicks & Barbra Streisand who were trashing then-President George W. Bush. I have used a variation of that title for more than 15 years to respond to performers who sound off on politics.

I do struggle with how much and in which way, as an artist or celebrity, that you voice your political views.

I don't pick and choose what LeBron should talk about any more than any talking heads who try to pick and choose.

I have always hated celebrities lecturing people on politics.

I do not believe that artists or actors and people should be out there like voicing their full-blown opinions on politics because, let's face it, at the end of the day, I'm not that smart of a guy.

Since the beginning of establishment, poets and spoken word artists have always been both vocal supporters and critics of government. And in this age of Trump as President, alternative facts, falsehoods becoming truth at the send of a tweet, it's vital that spoken word poetry does its job helping to keep folks 'woke' and not numb or shut down.

I think people can't say anymore, 'Celebrities should keep their political opinions to themselves,' because we elected a reality TV star, so I think that's off limits.

I'm a wishy-washy 'Guardian' reader, but the last thing I want to do is force a political agenda down people's throats. It's not central to my work, unlike, say, China Mieville, who's very politicised.

I think about politics, so it would be inauthentic not to talk about it.

As for political poetry, as it's usually defined, it seems there's very little good political poetry.

I am not political. It is not my job. But I would be happy if politicians could read my work and draw some conclusions from it.

I'm usually put off by performers when they get political.

I'm not one of those actors that knows everything about politics.

I don't set out to write a political song. I am not one of those that feels compelled to write about what's going on.

I feel like there is this weird thing where celebrity involvement in political campaigns kind of goes together like peanut butter and chocolate. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad.

Actors with political views are a dime a dozen.

I'd always been a news junkie, always read lots of newspapers and watched the Sunday morning news shows on TV and felt strongly about issues of power, control, sexuality and race.

Dickens never joined a political party nor put forward a political programme. He was a writer who rightly saw his power as coming through his fiction.

A lot of young poets today, from what I've heard and experienced, can't get their heads past George W. Bush, and I've heard so many poems about this democracy and this era of politics that I'm kind of bored by it.

People have always tut-tutted about actors stepping out of line politically. And I can sort of see it because what you've got your fame for is not being someone who can influence things, so it's cheating.

Well, a lot of people within government and big business are nervous of Hip Hop and Hip Hop artists, because they speak their minds. They talk about what they see and what they feel and what they know. They reflect what's around them.

I have always hated celebrities lecturing people on politics. So forgive me. But I am passionate about this country. I am equally passionate about the potential of the people who live here.

You should never ask actors about politics.

I admire actresses like Jennifer Lawrence, who says what she thinks.

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