Friday’s Washington Post splashed Eva Longoria across the front page of the Style section, because liberal minority celebrities for Biden are among the best humans. Their headline: “If you don’t know why Eva Longoria is a political power broker, you haven’t been paying attention.” Reporter Bethonie Butler oozed that Longoria kicked off both party conventions in August. She started up the Democrats, and helped the Republicans fall flat.
Within the first half-hour of the GOP convention, the Republican National Committee chairwoman scoffed at the Democrats’ decision to have Longoria, “a famous Hollywood actress who played a housewife on TV,” emcee one of its biggest nights. But the criticism fell flat, not least because the actress also spoke at the Democratic conventions in 2016 and 2012. If anything, the swipe conveyed the power Longoria has attained after more than a decade in the political advocacy space.
Liberal celebrities can never be mocked as millionaire dilettantes! Somehow, a liberal actress known for a hot (and tawdry) show like Desperate Housewives is more serious because the Democrats also put her on stage at previous conventions. The Post lets her posit: “I didn’t show up there as a celebrity or as an actress. I showed up as an American and as a patriot.” Celebrities can use their platform to push for the Left:
“You can’t change policy until you change culture,” Longoria says in an interview with The Washington Post, citing a quote from artist-activist Favianna Rodriguez. “The biggest way you can change culture is through media. And so I’m in a position in which I can influence what people think of our community but also how our community thinks of ourselves.”
Butler touted how Longoria hasn’t just branched out to directing and running shows, she’s created a PAC, and she got a Master’s degree (so smart, not just “posting straight up fire bikini pictures on Instagram”):
Longoria actually was a student during the last few seasons of Desperate Housewives; a year after the show wrapped, she graduated with a master’s degree in Chicana/o studies from California State University at Northridge. She wrote her thesis on the value of increasing opportunities for Latinas in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), which is also one focus of the nonprofit organization she founded in 2012.
Latinas, Longoria says, are “one of the most powerful groups that this country has.” Last month, she announced the creation of She Se Puede, a digital lifestyle community she launched with actress America Ferrera and other Latina activists. The nonprofit initiative’s name is a play on the slogan coined by famed activist and labor leader Dolores Huerta, who Longoria says has been a mentor to her since her pre-fame days.
In July, Longoria and her political partner Henry Munoz launched Momento Latino, “a coalition uniting more than 130 organizations toward the goal of systemic change in health care, the economy and education.” The Post touted how Momento Latino will take on a bigger stage on October 26 when Longoria co-hosts the organization’s CBS special “Essential Heroes,” celebrating essential workers and Latino culture, alongside Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan.