The internet allows A collective outcry erupted when Beyoncé's publicist, Yvette Noel Shore, shut down rumors that the 32-time Grammy Award-winning singer would perform at the Democratic National Convention.
“At home watching and anticipating the Vice President’s historic speech,” Noelle Schorr wrote before Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris took the stage on Thursday. “Focus on winning and register to vote. Don’t spread rumors. Focus.”
Her post was seen as a direct reference to the rampant speculation that renaissance The star was set to appear at the four-day event. After TMZ reported that Beyoncé would grace the stage on the final night of the Democratic National Convention, and verified X/Twitter accounts with large followings began posting about the potential “surprise” (one account, @Angry_Staffer, has since apologized), the rumor spread across nearly every social media platform, with Democratic Party organizers and Chicago government officials even beginning to prepare for Beyoncé’s possible arrival.
“It was crazy,” said a person familiar with the matter. Rolling Stone Earlier Thursday. “Obviously the people who run the show and work here are going to be preparing for Beyoncepalooza… but we keep hearing ‘I don’t know’ when this comes up,” the source added. “It’s come up repeatedly.”
After news of Beyoncé's final no-show spread, internet users and the Beyhive reacted with a wave of memes and posts filled with devastation.
“Has TMZ ever gotten this wrong?” wrote TV columnist Ben Simon. “This is a complete failure of U.S. intelligence. A special counsel should be appointed.”
Meanwhile, Adam Smith, vice president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, joked: “It’s time to call out TMZ.”
Beyoncé's fan accounts also expressed their extreme disappointment, including the Beyonce Press account, which posted a list of events that Beyoncé did not attend.
While the rumors ultimately turned out to be an empty promise, the Democratic National Convention was packed with star-studded appearances including performances by Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Shaila E on Wednesday night, and a surprise appearance by Lil Jon for Georgia during the delegation roll call. To close out the convention, The Chicks performed the national anthem, while Pink and her daughter Willow Sage sang a moving rendition of her hit “What About Us.”
She herself has indicated her support for Harris, by lemonade “Freedom” has been the unofficial Harris-Walz campaign song for several weeks. The vice president’s team also released a campaign ad featuring the song earlier this week.
Harris has been using “Freedom” — courtesy of Beyoncé — since launching her presidential campaign. In her first public appearance after receiving Biden’s endorsement, Harris took to the stage while “Freedom” was playing.
Beyoncé has been a longtime Democrat. Ahead of the 2020 election, she posted a photo of herself wearing a Biden-Harris face mask. She captioned the post, “Come on Texas! #MyVote.” Throughout 2020, Beyoncé supported her mother, Tina Knowles Lawson, in her efforts to help protect voters ahead of the 2020 election.
In 2016, Beyoncé and Jay-Z joined Hillary Clinton at a voter rally in Ohio. The event also featured appearances by Chance the Rapper, Big Sean, and J. Cole.
“There was a time when a woman’s opinion didn’t matter. Whether you were black, white, Mexican, Asian, Muslim, educated, poor, rich; if you were a woman, it didn’t matter,” Beyoncé said at the time. “Less than 100 years ago, women didn’t have the right to vote. Look how far we’ve come from not having a voice to now being on the verge of making history again by electing the first woman president.”
In the 2012 election, Beyoncé posted a handwritten letter on her website expressing her support for President Barack Obama's re-election. “Every day we see your heart and character, inspiring us all to give more of ourselves,” the singer wrote, before going on to describe Obama as “a leader who will take us from where we are to where we need to be.”
