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    Kelly Clarkson Loses Twitter Followers After Endorsing Ron Paul

    By Samantha Murphy | Mashable – Fri, Dec 30, 2011

    [brightcove video="1354142370001" /]

    "Miss Independent" singer Kelly Clarkson endorsed GOP hopeful Ron Paul on her Twitter page earlier this week and it’s costing her the support of her fans.

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    "I love Ron Paul. I liked him a lot during the last Republican nomination and no one gave him a chance. If he wins the nomination for the Republican party in 2012 he’s got my vote. Too bad he probably won’t," she tweeted on Wednesday.

    Her message received backlash across Twitter, as some accused the American Idol winner of supporting racism (newsletters published in Paul's name in the 1980s and 1990s included some racist sentiments -- he has recently deemed the comments 'terrible" and said someone else wrote them), as well as the death penalty and opposing same-sex marriage.

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    As one tweet put it: “Now THAT is how you get someone to unfollow you on Twitter ... and in your career. Good luck -- you’ll need it,” wrote @cibuloid.

    Clarkson later clarified on Twitter that she does not support racism and the death penalty, and took to her WhoSay page to address the controversy.

    "Man, my eyes have been opened to so much hate tonight," Clarkson wrote. "If y'all ever disagree with something I say, please don't feel the need to attack me. I will listen to what you say and any articles or viewpoints you have when you say it with respect. Being hateful is not a healthy way to get people to see or hear you."

    "If you don't agree with me simply unfollow me," she added. "It's really that easy."

    However, Clarkson is getting some support from the Twitter community, including country singer Blake Shelton.

    "@kelly_clarkson I love you!!!! I'll listen to your viewpoints anytime. And I really wouldn't mind throat punching someone for you either!!" Shelton tweeted.

    Should celebrities tweet about politics or should they be more cautious about divulging their personal views on Twitter? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

    This story originally published on Mashable here.

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    618 comments

    • Megan
      Megan  •  Atlanta, Georgia  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      It is her right to endorse whom ever she chooses... I thought this was America?
    • Pip
      Pip  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      Dang must suck to be a celebrity, everyone expects you to please them all the time. I thought this was America, Clarkson has freedom of choice.
    • H.E.
      H.E.  •  Santa Clara, California  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      why do we care what celebrities think anyway. The only difference between them and us is their job is in the public eye they have no more insight than the corner liquor store clerk. Seriously folks time to wake up and think for yourselves.
    • starriegyrl
      starriegyrl  •  Los Angeles, California  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      Kelly has the right to express her opinion, and anyone that doesn't agree with her has the right to unfollow her Twitter page, but to express hate just because she has a different opinion from others is ridiculous. She will be just fine with or without those players in her court. Keep on rockin Kelly!
    • James Wilson
      James Wilson  •  Dallas, Texas  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      All I have to say is Freedom Of Speech. And Im not a Paul supported but I do support the Rights we all have.
    • Ken
      Ken  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      In democracy ALL citizens need to be involved in politics, you are wrong. If you aren't involved you have no say. I don't like Paul, but she is free to do that, and screw who untwitters her, Twitter is lame anyway ; )
    • Joseph
      Joseph  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      Veterans and active-duty military donate to Ron Paul more than any other politician
    • Darius
      Darius  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      OH NO! People that don't really know her to begin with aren't following her anymore! T_T Oh the humanity!! What a bunch of preschoolers. I'm pretty sure the people that left her are voting for someone with faults. Either way, it doesn't matter to me. She votes for who she wants, I vote for who I want, we'll still have a jacked up country regardless. I'm still gonna listen to her music though. She's still the same person she was when she won American Idol and to think otherwise is just foolish.
    • Tim
      Tim  •  Phoenix, Arizona  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      She has the right to vote for anybody she wants to vote for. If you don't agree with her, then don't follow her on twitter. But, don't attack her for it. That's just shows how closed minded some people are.
    • H
      H  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      personally, i gained a lot more respect for kelly clarkson after this. you win some, you lose some. nobody should be afraid to speak their mind simply out of fear that others will react negatively.
    • t0cd0r
      t0cd0r  •  Spokane, Washington  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      Well Kelly you might gain some to.
    • sue ellen
      sue ellen  •  Louisville, Kentucky  •  1 mth 26 days ago
      The old rule...never discuss politics n religion in public... is a good rule..why? Because when in public view as a celebrity, you can please some of the people some of the time but never all the people all of the time.
    • tim
      tim  •  Dallas, Texas  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      The article right under this one says that Clarkson sees a 192% jump in album sales after her endorsement of Ron Paul. Learn how to properly send out negative propaganda against a candidate you do not support Yahoo, jeez!
    • Myotis
      Myotis  •  St Paul, Minnesota  •  1 mth 26 days ago
      I saw that her album sales shot up on Amazon 700% after she supported Paul. Who cares about the whiny Twitter followers?
    • viperBSG
      viperBSG  •  Springfield, Massachusetts  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      Then they where never true Followers OR FANS
    • John
      John  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      Amen kelly.. I'm not a Ron Paul man, but I can like you as a singer and as a person while totally disagreeing with you...
    • The AntiSheep
      The AntiSheep  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      And the next day's headlines read --- Clarkson's CD sales go thru roof.
    • patriot1
      patriot1  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      asparticus 43 mins ago Most Republicans candidates are racists
      ************************
      Really?
      Really? Who constantly plays the race card? THE DEMOCRATS. Who constantly played the race card in the 2008 election? OBAMA AND THE DEMOCRATS. Of all the candidates running for President right now, Obama is the most racist of them all. Period. All you have to do is listen to his comments, interviews, and speeches. Look at Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, two of the most racist black men ever heard. Both liberal Democrats. Robert Byrd, a liberal democrat, was a Klan member and proud of it for years! Ah, but Republicans are racist....riiiight....tell that to Alan West, or Michael Steele, or Marco Rubio....
    • raymond
      raymond  •  Branson, Missouri  •  1 mth 26 days ago
      Hey she finally did something decent, I am actually leaning towards voting for the man... but if he actually calls out the Federal Reserve slave masters, and goes against the Zionist Jew wars, they'll probably assassinate him like Lincoln and Kennedy.
    • tralala311
      tralala311  •  1 mth 27 days ago
      i dont care for ron paul, but why cant she have an opinion & let it be known without being attacked? good lord, its not like she said "if you dont believe the same as me you're a #$%$.
     Post a comment
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