CHICAGO— Hollywood‘s A-list flocked to this week’s Democratic National Convention in support of Vice President Kamala Harris‘s 2024 campaign, which has rejuvenated party members.
Many celebrities appeared to take a more low-key approach to the convention by appearing at private parties for delegates and donors or at sideline meetings. However, the decision of whether mega superstars Beyonce or Taylor Swift will appear center stage at the convention will not known until Thursday evening when Harris is to formally accept the nomination.
At the Nevada delegation breakfast Monday morning, attendees screamed with joy when a speaker implied Beyonce would appear on Thursday night. Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told the North Carolina delegation on Wednesday that “an unexpected musical guest” would perform before Harris’s speech leading, again, to multiple people to scream.
Harris’s campaign has used Beyonce’s “Freedom” in several campaign ads, sparking rumors that there could be an appearance on the final night of the convention but the superstar’s team has not confirmed that she will appear onstage.
“Freedom is such a positive message, and it’s so different from democracy. It’s just another way of messaging that in order to have a democracy, you have to have freedom,” Gemma Lowery, a Delaware delegate, told the Washington Examiner. “If she came, it would just kind of be the cherry on top of the cake. But, the cake is fabulous even if we don’t get the cherry.”
Even before Thursday night, celebrities have swarmed the convention, sometimes simply appearing at caucus meetings or at after-parties following the gavel conclusion each night.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, of Abbott Elementary fame, appeared at a Thursday morning women’s caucus where she roused the crowd with a musical rendition of “We’re not going back,” a key theme of the Harris campaign and the convention.
At that same meeting, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (R-TX) asked the crowd: “Who run the world?” a reference to Beyonce’s 2011 hit sing.
Scandal stars Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn were two of the celebrity cohosts across the four nights. Mindy Kaling, of The Office fame, was another host, as was Republican commenter Ana Navarro.
The rapper Lil Jon was perhaps the key highlight of the ceremonial roll call vote on Tuesday evening when he appeared with the Georgia delegation and performed a snippet of his hit song “Turn Down For What.”
Country music stars The Chicks will reportedly sing the national anthem on Thursday evening, while Pink will give a closing night performance. Maren Morris, another country music star, performed one day earlier, singing her 2020 song “Better Than We Found It.”
Oprah Winfrey, the well-known talk show host, appeared Wednesday evening, where she implored independents and moderates to support the Harris campaign.
Celebrity singers John Legend, Stevie Wonder, and Sheila E. all took to the stage on Wednesday as they gave Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) a Minnesota-inspired tribute before he gave his acceptance speech.
Legend also performed at a private after-party Tuesday night hosted by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and first lady MK Pritzker. The rapper T-Pain is also expected to perform at another after-party on Thursday after the conclusion of the convention.
But Democrats are attempting to walk a fine line between appealing to middle America struggling to recover from the hard economic years of the COVID-19 pandemic. The embrace of Hollywood is in stark contrast to Walz’s attempts to portray the Democratic ticket as the party of the Midwest. It could also play into attacks that the convention is a “Hollywood liberal elite” event.
The Minnesota governor’s acceptance speech spoke to his background as a public school teacher who fought to give free lunches to hungry children and help families who struggled with homelessness.
The convention would likely have featured far fewer celebrities if President Joe Biden had remained the Democratic nominee, but excitement over a possible Harris presidency saw a surge in the number of megastars in attendance.
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Whether the embrace of Hollywood will pay off is not yet determined, but a recent study from Harvard University showed that celebrities can affect elections.
“While some polling shows that people claim they aren’t influenced by celebrity voices when it comes to politics, more rigorous evidence indicates that these voices are incredibly powerful,” the researchers wrote. “For example, nonprofits report higher rates of online voter registration or poll worker sign-ups when a celebrity promotes these calls to action. This potential impact is why nonprofits, candidates, and elected officials are increasingly seeking ways to engage celebrities.”
