Beyoncé to Rally With Kamala Harris, Boosting Her Celebrity Support
(Bloomberg) -- Pop superstar Beyoncé Knowles-Carter will campaign with Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday, offering the support of an artist who has branded herself as a symbol of empowerment to a candidate seeking to be the first Black woman to win the presidency.
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The singer is scheduled to appear with Harris at a campaign stop in Houston on Friday while the Democratic nominee is in the state to talk about reproductive rights, according to a person familiar with the schedule, who requested anonymity to discuss plans that were not yet public.
Beyoncé is a multi-genre artist who boasts the most Grammy Awards in history and a massive fan base, but has largely avoided weighing in on political matters during the 2024 election. Her support provides a major public boost to a campaign that needs to turn out large numbers of Black and young voters in the race against Republican Donald Trump.
One of Beyoncé’s songs, Freedom, featuring rapper Kendrick Lamar has been played often at campaign events and was used in the official launch video for Harris’ presidential bid.
She is the latest pop star to throw her support behind Harris, who has received endorsements from a long list of celebrities, featuring some at campaign events as she seeks an edge in a deadlocked race. Pop star Lizzo and R&B artist Usher have both appeared at campaign events in recent days, with rock artist Bruce Springsteen slated to appear at an event on Thursday. The Washington Post first reported Beyoncé’s planned appearance.
The Harris campaign has been leaning on celebrities to help motivate voters. It’s also teasing a get-out-the-vote concert, billed a “real show-stopper,” to be held just days before Election Day with a mystery musical guest. Other notable names including pop star Taylor Swift, singer Billie Eilish and media mogul Oprah Winfrey have endorsed Harris in recent months.
Beyoncé has offered her support for the vice president before, endorsing the Democratic ticket of President Joe Biden and his running mate Harris in 2020 with a post on Instagram. That post showed Beyoncé donning a Biden-Harris branded mask during the Covid-19 pandemic and flashing an “I voted” sticker on her hat.
She also gave Harris tickets worth $1,656 to one of her shows in 2023, according to financial disclosures released by the White House in May. The disclosure did not detail which concert Harris attended, but the vice president posted a picture of herself and second gentleman Doug Emhoff thanking Beyoncé “for a fun date night” the day her Renaissance World Tour performed near Washington, DC.
While the impact of a celebrity’s endorsement is difficult to quantify, a 2008 study by two economists estimated that Winfrey’s support of former President Barack Obama drove 1 million voters to back him in that year’s presidential election.
“If any celebrities can make a difference in 2024, it’s going to be someone like Beyoncé,” said David Haven Blake, a College of New Jersey professor who authored a book on celebrity politics. Blake said she could be particularly effective driving turnout among young voters and people of color — key parts of the electoral coalition that put Biden in the White House and which Harris will need to reconstitute.
Harris’ entry into the race saw a surge of enthusiasm among key Democratic blocs, but her momentum has slowed as Election Day nears. Polls show Harris and Trump essentially tied in the battleground states likely to decide the election.
Beyoncé’s appearance could highlight fissures in the Democratic Party over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The conflict has brought anger from progressives, younger voters, and Arab- and Muslim-Americans over the administration’s support for Israel.
Beyoncé faced criticism last year when her Renaissance concert film, which highlighted the album of the same name and subsequent tour, was screened in Israel, as the country carried out its military campaign to root out Hamas, designated a terrorist group by the US and European Union, in Gaza.
--With assistance from Josh Wingrove.
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