Beyoncé and Top Celebs Rumored to Support Kamala Harris at DNC

A month ago, Hollywood was largely uninterested in the Democratic National Convention set to take place in Chicago this month. Now, celebrities are eagerly joining the event, dubbed Kamalapalooza. The list includes stars like Uma Thurman, John Legend, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Kerry Washington.

The excitement is palpable, and if the Democratic Party planners’ dreams come true, Beyoncé herself could make an appearance. The Harris campaign has already secured Beyoncé’s 2016 hit “Freedom” as their theme song. It’s widely speculated that she will headline on Thursday, August 22, performing live just as Kamala Harris formally accepts the nomination. A lineup like this would have been unthinkable at a Biden-fronted convention.

Legend, married to the famous Chrissy Teigen, had previously been noncommittal about performing at the DNC when Joe Biden was the nominee. His stance changed when Harris took over, transforming the Democratic ticket to face Donald Trump in November. “They never said ‘no’ with Biden, just didn’t ever give an answer,” a source revealed.

Louis-Dreyfus, who had participated in a series of comedy skits during Biden’s virtual convention in 2020, is even more enthusiastic this time. With the resurgence of her HBO series “Veep,” she told The Times of London about her excitement to be “extra-involved” with the Harris campaign up until Election Day.

DNC officials are undoubtedly hoping to see Beyoncé join this historic moment. DNC Chair Minyon Moore expressed the significance of this moment in an op-ed for the Grio: “It’s hard to overstate the significance of this moment, for the first time ever—a Black woman has secured the presidential nomination of a major party. But history doesn’t just happen—it’s made. And it’s important for us to remember how we got here.”

Additional celebrities and musicians expected to attend the event, starting on August 19 in Chicago, include Oscar nominees Jeffrey Wright (“American Fiction”) and Octavia Spencer (“The Help”), along with Boyz II Men and actors from the Creative Coalition, a nonpartisan arts advocacy organization. The group’s delegation will be led by Tim Daly, featuring stars like Thurman, Uzo Aduba, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Yvette Nicole Brown, Anthony Anderson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Busy Philipps, Jon Cryer, David Cross, Yolonda Ross, Iain Armitage, Chris Witaske, and Danai Gurira.

“Four weeks ago, we had just a modicum of interest from Hollywood,” said Robin Bronk, CEO of the Creative Coalition. “Now we have a waiting list. Everyone wants to get on our list.”

The Democratic National Convention did not immediately respond to requests for comments regarding the attendance of Beyoncé or other big-name celebrities. Similar requests to stars like George Clooney and Tom Hanks also went unanswered.

Even if the Beyoncé rumors don’t pan out, this year’s DNC is still shaping up to be reminiscent of Barack Obama’s first star-studded convention. That 2008 event in Denver featured major A-listers like Sting, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez (when “Bennifer” meant Jennifer Garner), Spike Lee, and Scarlett Johansson. On the final night, Jennifer Hudson performed the national anthem, and artists like Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow wowed the Mile High stadium crowd.

While some pundits had worried this year’s DNC in Chicago might be a chaotic repeat of 1968, which preceded Richard Nixon’s landslide victory, it could instead be an inspiring event echoing the history-making convention of 2008.

— Additional reporting by Mini Racker

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