'Naked Celebs' star in political PSA about 'naked ballots,' following example of Allegheny County pols
It’s not enough for Pennsylvania elected officials to get naked to promote proper voting procedures in the November election. Celebrities are getting in on the action, too.
In a viral video released today, titled “These Naked Celebs Have an Important Message for Voters,” well-known comedians and actors are shown naked — discreetly — addressing the importance of placing a mail-in ballot inside the mandatory secrecy envelope. Sending in a “naked ballot,” or a ballot not enclosed in the secrecy envelope, would invalidate it — meaning the vote won’t count. They made special mention of Pennsylvania as a state where secrecy envelopes are essential.
“I’m naked,” says comedian Chris Rock to open the 2-minute video, followed by celebrities including Tiffany Haddish, Amy Schumer, Josh Gad, Ryan Bathe, Naomi Campbell, Sarah Silverman and Chelsea Handler.
Mark Ruffalo was modest. “I know what you’re thinking,” said a shirtless Ruffalo. “You’re thinking, ‘Ruffalo, put your clothes on.’ ”
The video was produced by RepresentUs, a political advocacy group.
It follows the example set last month by three local Democratic politicians, led by Allegheny County Councilwoman Bethany Hallam.
Hallam came up with the idea to pose topless — also discreetly — after Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court ruled that mail-in ballots had to be rejected if not enclosed in the proper secrecy envelope. Mail-in ballots arriving not within the secrecy envelopes became known as “naked ballots.”
Hallam recruited fellow Allegheny County Council member Olivia “Liv” Bennett and Emily Kinkead, who’s running for a state House seat in the 20th District.
The women superimposed ballots and ballot envelopes over their chests and posted the images on social media. The goal was to show people the proper way to submit mail-in votes.
Desperate times call for desperate measures! So your favorite elected officials got naked so that you remember to make sure that your mail-in ballot is NOT submitted without its secrecy envelope!! #nonakedballots #dressyourballot pic.twitter.com/bQXaQRHj0j
— Bethany Hallam (@bethanyhallam) September 26, 2020
Hallam said she didn’t reach out to the celebrities, nor did they reach out to her. She assumes they saw her campaign because, following local coverage, it received national media attention with stories on People.com and The Guardian.
She called the RepresentUs video “fantastic. … The whole point was to get folks attention, and celebrities have a much further reach than any of us elected officials in Allegheny County have.”
— Bethany Hallam (@bethanyhallam) October 7, 2020
.
The video also emphasizes reading the ballot directions, using the right color of ink, and mailing in a ballot promptly. Pennsylvania is the only state directly named in the video.
Credit to @bethanyhallam, @LivFor13, @emily4pa20 for the incredible idea! All the cool kids are doing it now https://t.co/mSXJvy5KDg
— Schuyler Sheaffer (@SkyGuy10177) October 7, 2020
“In some states like Pennsylvania … there are two envelopes you have to stuff your ballot in, otherwise it’s called a ‘naked ballot,’ ” the celebrities said. “You don’t want to have one of those.”
Hallam said Pennsylvania likely was named in the video because it’s a battleground state. Other states also don’t require secrecy envelopes for the ballots.
“We’re talking about a state that got no-excuse mail-in voting for the first time ever in such a crucial election year, and the fact that the laws regarding mail-in voting were literally changed less than a month ago with the Supreme Court ruling that ‘naked ballots’ would not be accepted, even though they were in the primary,” Hallam said. “I think that’s why Pennsylvania is the highlight of all of this.”
@bethanyhallam https://t.co/xUfhg0I4R4
— Joe Waczewski (@JoeWaczewski) October 7, 2020
Sarah Silverman, known for her frank style of comedy, was the most risque of the crew. She is shown with both hands covering her bare breasts. “There isn’t a man behind me, these are my hands,” she quipped.
Comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, playing his character Borat Sagdiyev, a journalist from Kazakhstan, makes an appearance. Sarah Silverman’s dad, known as “Schleppy,” does too.
Schleppy was naked. Borat wasn’t. “Why you want me be naked?” asked Borat (who has a new movie coming out this month on Amazon Prime).
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.