Fugees Frontman Has Some Hard Advice for Celebrities Getting Political

Wyclef Jean’s advice for celebrities who want to get political: Don’t be like Kathy Griffin.

Read up, said the musician of Fugees fame, and one-time aspiring celebrity-turned-president himself. And if you’re a high-profile person, think about how what you’re doing and saying might be interpreted, or maybe misinterpreted.

Otherwise, you could just end up hurting the cause you think you’re trying to help.

“If you’re the celebrity that’s speaking based on emotion, you don’t know what policy you’re talking about, they’re going to take that sound bite and make a whole movie out of it,” Jean said, speaking to me for POLITICO’s Off Message podcast. “So, I encourage every celebrity … let’s be as smart as [Jimmy] Kimmel.”

Though he says he feels obligated to give the president a chance, he can’t stand what he’s seen so far—like with the travel ban: “as someone who considers my group being Fugees, short for refugees, I find it crazy.”

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