Thomas Langston Reeves Smith

Entertaining Leaders Thomas Langston Reeves Smith

This book explores how entertainers who participate in the political process understand leadership and their role as leaders. Current research related to celebrity politics indicates that celebrities are increasingly thought of and used as a source of leadership and that the participation of celebrities in politics is controversial. Because of that controversy and the paucity of research in the phenomenon of celebrity leadership, it is important to develop a greater understanding of leadership provided by celebrity leaders. The lack of research raises a number of questions about entertainers as leaders, particularly why entertainers participate in the political process, how they understand their role as leaders, what impact leadership has on their art and what impact their art has on leadership. To answer these questions eight entertainers who have participated in politics were interviewed.