Celebrity Obama Supporters Give Republicans Some Advice

“They need to understand that it’s not just about rich white men. It just isn’t,” says Jennifer Westfeldt.

Image by Bryan Bedder / Getty Images

President Obama won — as Democrats typically do — the celebrity vote in the 2012 election, with Mitt Romney’s Kid Rock rallies no match for Bruce Springsteen and Jay-Z.

BuzzFeed caught up with few of Obama’s celebrity fund-raisers and campaigners Monday and asked them about the campaign, and about what advice they’d offer a defeated Republican party.

“I’m so, so relieved. We had been campaigning in swing states with Obama surrogates and the races were so close. I was so panicked, I couldn’t sleep for a solid month just worrying about it,” said Jennifer Westfeldt at Cosmopolitan’s “Cosmo 100” luncheon at Michael’s restaurant in New York on Monday. Westfeldt, along with her longtime boyfriend Jon Hamm, campaigned for Obama in a number of swing states and attended the Democratic National Convention.

“I think that [Republicans] have to do a lot of soul-searching and realize that they’re totally out of touch with America and the diversity of America. The fact that they have absolutely no relationship with women and minorities is shameful,” she added. “They need to understand that it’s not just about rich white men. It just isn’t.”

Sarah Jessica Parker, who hosted a $40,000 per head fund-raiser for Obama at her Manhattan home in June, wouldn’t say whether or not she’s heard from the president since he was reelected last week. “But the American people have,” she said.

Parker suggested Republicans take note of “the reality of this country, the wonderful diverse group of Americans that now exist — that’s the voting bloc.”

“But I don’t need to tell the Republicans that,” she said. “I think it’s abundantly clear what happened on election night.”

Parker stuck close to her friend Diane Von Furstenberg, even whispering in her ear for a few minutes. The designer, also an outspoken Obama fan who in September told shoppers in an event at her store that, “Everyone here better be a Democrat; no Republicans!” said she was “very happy” that Obama was reelected.

“You have to understand, I’m a European who became American. What I love about America is the unity,” she explained. She then walked a few feet away to tell a woman — seemingly a stranger — that she had dropped her scarf. She picked it up, put her arm around the woman’s shoulder, and placed the scarf back on the woman. “So that’s what I would like more than anything, that people come together.”