Fat Joe recognized why many celebrities avoid endorsing political candidates. The Terror Squad rapper said he doesn’t knock public figures who stay silent while discussing his decision to become more involved in politics on the Club Shay Shay podcast.
“I don’t blame ‘em,” Fat Joe told host Shannon Sharpe. “It’s hard for a celebrity. I never understood why celebrities never speak their mind, but now I do. Because you alienate—you know the minute I go, ‘I’m for Kamala Harris,’ everybody who loves Trump is like, ‘F### you Fat Joe’ … It’s real like that. And vice versa. If you for Trump, we hate you.”
Fat Joe took an active interest in politics to fight for price transparency in the U.S. healthcare system. He became an ambassador for the nonprofit Power to the Patients in 2021.
“I became a big voice for that, which has been a hard thing to do,” he said. “Because we keep going to Washington and trying to get it done and it’s been the hardest thing. It’s been one of the biggest challenges of my life, but I love it. When I walk through the airport, random people come up to me and say, ‘Yo, Joe, thank you [for] what you doing.’ And I’m like thinking about music or whatever. He’s like, ‘Nah, man. The biggest thing you doing is fighting for the people with the healthcare price transparency.’ So, I’m proud of what I’m doing.”
Fat Joe vowed to push for healthcare price transparency no matter who wins the election, but he has thrown his support behind Vice President Harris. Earlier this year, he assured fans he wasn’t voting for Trump after acquiring a pair of the former president’s gold “Never Surrender” sneakers. Fat Joe said he only got the shoes because he’s a sneaker collector.