Users were not feeling a tweet from the Senate Democrats’ X account on Monday, in which the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) used a Chappell Roan song in what’s being viewed a cringe-inducing, desperate-seeming attempt to inspire people to vote.
The account tweeted, “H-O-T-T-O-V-O-T-E!” in a play on words from the singer-songwriter' chorus. Roan, who identifies as queer and occasionally performs in drag, released her single “HOT TO GO!” last year.
Some users were quick to point out in the replies that using a song by a queer artist to get out the vote felt inauthentic, amid ongoing criticism that institutions often only spotlight LGBTQ+ people and issues when it benefits them.
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Others pointed out that the cringiness of the Dems’ tweet called to mind the awkward “Pokémon Go to the polls” phrase Hillary Clinton used in 2016, when the mobile game was at its height in popularity.
Many users posted memes of photos from pop culture indicating bleak, depressive thoughts in response to the party stooping to this level to pander to voters. One even theorized that the whole ordeal is so humiliating it can only be explained as an intentional stunt.
Roan had previously been invited to perform at the White House for Pride this year, but turned down the opportunity—saying later at a Governors Ball Music Festival performance that she turned it down because “We want liberty, justice and freedom for all,” and “When [they] do that, that’s when I’ll come.”
X users echoed the dissatisfaction Roan expressed when the tweet as soon as the DSCC's tweet went live. Said one, “that’s not how the song goes.”
We’ve reached out to Roan’s team for comment on the Dems’ use of her song in their social post.
