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“I believe at a New York local election years ago, I went into the booth and did something wrong. My vote was not registered correctly. So make sure you know what you are doing. When I was younger, I would listen to people who were more politically astute and did what they told me to do. But I think we need to be a little more discerning now, even at local elections. There is so much at stake so please educate yourselves now. Get as much information as you can whether you are voting at the polls or mailing in a ballot. If you need to have a ballot postmarked by a certain time, don’t miss the deadline.

“This is not the U.S.A. that I was once young in, this is a U.S.A. of harder times. Wages haven’t been properly increased for decades and the wealthiest have gotten wealthier. While voting once every four years is important, we’ve got a lot more to do than that. We cannot hope to address something like widespread police brutality against people of color, which has been going on for so many decades, just by swapping Biden for Trump. Swapping Biden for Trump is not going to magically reduce carbon emissions either. We have got to keep the pressure on, even after the elections. We can’t just be satisfied that we’ve gotten rid of Trump. We’ve got to push whoever the winner is—if we want real change. I think that the issues now affecting the youth and working Americans in general are dire. It’s important we demand what we want or we will get nothing.

“A lot of people dismiss celebrities’ political advice because they are well-off and don’t face the same struggles that working Americans do. I guess it’s up to celebrities who aren’t well-off to run our mouths! You know, I grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and they did not appreciate liberals or progressiveness at all—it was a very red state. One Sunday, we got to church and in response to a speech my father had given with the pastor, they painted a red swastika on the church front door. I mean, I kind of got used to it early on— knowing that there were consequences if you speak out. But at the same time, you are not being honest with yourself if you feel something strongly and don’t speak out. My humor is outrageous, my look is over the top, and my politics are in your face. That’s just the way I am.”

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