Usher Hit With Backlash Over "The Activist" Competition Advocacy Series

Usher, Priyanka Chopra Jones, and Julianne Hough host the series that pits activists against one another as they advocate for their causes for a prize.

There is a new competition series on the horizon and not everyone is here for it. For decades, we’ve watched people battle it out over love, money, power, and influence, and a few of those are the basis of CBS’s upcoming series, The Activist. It seems that producers are hoping to capitalize on the current state of a global culture where activism has taken center stage. Tens of millions of people worldwide took to the streets of their communities to protest a variety of political and social issues in 2020 alone, and now The Activist is looking for the winner.

The show is hosted by Usher, Priyanka Chopra Jones, and Julianna Hough, and while the Global Citizen series seems innocent enough, the public wasn’t happy to learn the details.

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Deadline reports: “The Activist is a competition series that features six inspiring activists teamed with three high-profile public figures working together to bring meaningful change to one of three vitally important world causes: health, education, and environment.” The outlet further states that in the five-episode series, these activists will compete in “head-to-head in challenges,” that “promote their causes, with their success measured via online engagement, social metrics, and hosts’ input.”

Competitors will have to be the best at showing that they’ve developed “impactful movements,” and the person to take the crown will meet with world leaders at the G20 Summit in Rome. And, of course, the show will feature musical performances to mix things up.

“The Activist is a first-of-its-kind competition series that will inspire real change, as the series progresses from the United States to Rome for the Activists’ final challenge at the G20,” said Hugh Evans, CEO and co-founder of Global Citizen. “The audience will see the Activists’ passion and commitment for their causes tested as they petition world leaders to take urgent action to resolve the interconnected crises we face.”

The backlash was heavy and caused Usher to become a trending topic. Check out a few responses below.

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