The Internet Fans broke down into sobs when Beyoncé’s publicist, Yvette Noelle Schuur, denied rumors that the 32-time Grammy Award-winning singer would perform at the Democratic National Convention.
“Watching from home and looking forward to the VP’s historic speech,” Noel Schur wrote before Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage on Thursday. “Let’s stay focused on winning and registering to vote. Don’t report the rumors. Let’s stay focused.”
Her post is, Renaissance The star was scheduled to appear across the four-day event. Fueled by a TMZ report that Beyoncé would take the stage on the final day of the DNC and a widely followed X/Twitter verified account posting about a possible “surprise” (the account @Angry_Staffer has since apologized), rumors spread across nearly every social media platform, with Democratic organizers and even Chicago government officials bracing for a possible Beyoncé appearance.
“It’s a big deal,” said a person familiar with the matter. Rolling Stone The announcement was made early Thursday morning. “Obviously the people who run the show and work here will be preparing for Beyoncepalooza, and when this story comes out we just keep getting told, ‘We don’t know,'” the source added. “This story comes up a lot.”
When the news finally filtered out that Beyoncé would not be performing, the internet and the Beyhive reacted with a flurry of memes and posts venting their heartbreak.
“Has TMZ ever been so wrong?” wrote TV writer Ben Simon. “This is a total failure of American intelligence. A special counsel needs to be appointed.”
Meanwhile, Adam Smith, vice president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, joked that “it’s time to subpoena TMZ.”
Beyoncé fan accounts also expressed their deep disappointment, including Beyoncé Press, which posted a list of Beyoncé-free events on X.
Though the rumors ultimately turned out to be empty promises, the DNC still had a star-studded lineup on Wednesday night, with performances from Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Sheila E., and a surprise appearance from Georgia Representative Lil Jon during the delegate roll call. The convention closed with The Chicks performing the national anthem, and Pink and her daughter Willow Sage belting out “What About Us.”
Bayh himself has also voiced his support for Harris. lemonade “Freedom” was used as the unofficial campaign song for the Harris-Waltz campaign for several weeks, and the vice president’s campaign debuted a campaign ad featuring the song earlier this week.
Harris has been using “Freedom” with Beyonce’s permission since the start of her presidential campaign. During her first public appearance since receiving Biden’s endorsement, Harris walked to the podium with “Freedom” playing.
Beyoncé is a longtime supporter of the Democratic Party. Ahead of the 2020 election, she shared a photo of herself wearing a Biden-Harris face mask. “Go Texas! #vote,” she captioned the post. Throughout 2020, Beyoncé supported her mother, Tina Knowles Lawson, in supporting voter protection ahead of the 2020 election.
And in 2016, Beyoncé and Jay-Z performed alongside Hillary Clinton at a voter mobilization concert in Ohio, which also featured Chance the Rapper, Big Sean and J. Cole.
“There was a time when a woman’s opinion didn’t matter. It didn’t matter if you were black, white, Mexican, Asian, Muslim, educated, poor or rich, if you were a woman,” Beyoncé said at the time. “Less than 100 years ago, women didn’t have the right to vote. Think about how far we’ve come, from a time when we didn’t have a voice to now making history again by electing the first woman president.”
And during the 2012 election, Beyoncé published a handwritten message on her website in support of President Barack Obama’s reelection: “Every day we see your heart and character and we are all inspired to give more of ourselves,” she wrote, calling Obama “a leader who can get us from where we are to where we need to be.”
