Year in Review: Making a statement

The personal lives and beliefs of artists and athletes took center stage in 2019. In the social media era, celebrities risk falling into irrelevance if they don’t stand for something off-camera. Most of the time, they are parroting predictably liberal stances on politics, marriage, and sexuality, but some celebs broke from the pack this year, risking their A-list status in the process. Here’s a look at the biggest entertainment headlines of the past 12 months.

Standing for Jesus

When Kanye West started hosting the gospel-oriented concerts he calls Sunday Services earlier this year, Christians wondered what the self-absorbed rapper was really up to. But they mostly welcomed West into the flock after he released the gospel rap album Jesus Is King in late October. West joined other celebrity converts such as Justin Bieber, Chris Pratt, and Chance the Rapper in sharing his pro-Jesus and pro-family convictions with the public. Most of this year’s high-profile Jesus freaks weren’t brand new to Christianity. But this year, they shared publicly how their faith had helped them through recent trials like Bieber’s drug use, Chance’s faithfulness to his daughter’s mother (who is now his wife), and West’s addiction to pornography. The common theme? Faith in Christ can lead to real change.

“With God, I’ve been able to beat things that had a full control of me,” West said. —L.L.

Standing for the unborn

The state of Georgia risked losing investment from major Hollywood studios when it passed a law in May protecting babies from abortion once they have a detectable heartbeat. Disney, Netflix, and Warner Media all threatened to take their business elsewhere, while actors Jason Bateman, Alyssa Milano, and others said they wouldn’t work in the state if the law took effect as planned on Jan. 1, 2020. Georgia offers generous tax incentives to producers, with movies like Black Panther and The Hunger Games and popular TV series like Stranger Things filming there. In October, a judge temporarily blocked the heartbeat law from taking effect as litigation against it plays out in the courts.

Meanwhile, pro-life filmmakers scored a victory with the movie Unplanned, the story of former Planned Parenthood facility manager Abby Johnson’s conversion to the pro-life movement. Despite outlets such as the Hallmark Channel, HGTV, and K-Love declining to run ads for it, Unplanned earned an A-plus rating from audiences and grossed more than $21 million worldwide. —L.L.

Standing up to the crowd

The art world’s tolerance for traditional or Biblical views of sexuality and gender sank even lower this year. Doxxing each other for “hating” the LGBT community has become a celebrity pastime. Author Nicholas Sparks faced backlash when The Daily Beast learned he had established a private school in North Carolina that embraced a Biblical sexual ethic. Actress Ellen Page called out actor Chris Pratt for attending a church that has not taken a clear position on sexuality. Both Sparks and Pratt apologized.

“There is this constant witch hunt, a search for evidence of guilt even by association,” said Brett McCracken, senior editor for arts and culture at The Gospel Coalition.

Television shows for young children increasingly began incorporating LGBT characters. PBS portrayed a same-sex wedding on the cartoon Arthur, and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic introduced a lesbian couple (of horses).

“Soon, there’s not going to be a middle ground,” McCracken said. “I hope there are people within the industry … with courage to stand on their convictions when the pressure comes.” —L.L.

Standing with Hong Kong

Celebrities who dared to stand against the Chinese government’s crackdown on protesters in Hong Kong often found themselves standing alone this year. When Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey tweeted support for Hong Kong’s pro-democracy activists in October, China, the NBA, and even star player LeBron James shunned him. As Chinese sponsors started pulling their support for the Rockets, the NBA and Morey issued public apologies.

To maintain their access to China’s lucrative market, U.S. entertainment companies are rewriting scripts and cutting any scenes that might offend the Community Party. As a result, China is gaining control over what U.S. audiences see and hear. —L.L.