Harris campaign hands Democrats a Hollywood glow up
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Kamala Harris at the American Federation of Teachers' 88th National Convention on July 25 in Houston. Photo: Montinique Monroe/Getty Images
While many Hollywood heavy hitters had cooled towards the Biden campaign, Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential bid has roused a flood of celebrity support for the Democratic ticket.
Why it matters: The star-studded entourage for Harris is one element of her campaign's reinvigoration for Democrats — energy they must now sustain through Nov. 5.
- Harris was joined by rappers Megan Thee Stallion and Quavo at her rally in Atlanta Tuesday.
- Multiple celebrities are expected to attend a fundraiser in Los Angeles Thursday, including actors Ashley Park and Darren Criss, Variety reported.
- The campaign even got permission to use Beyoncé's song "Freedom" in an ad.
The big picture: The Harris campaign, which has shifted towards focusing on themes of "freedom" and "future," has gotten an early bump from the endorsements by famous people paired with fundraising surges and a boom in grassroots volunteer efforts.
- A series of virtual Zoom rallies for Harris also turned out famous faces, including actors Jeff Bridges and Mindy Kaling, filmmaker J.J. Abrams, and pop star Pink.
- The Harris campaign did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment regarding celebrity support for her.
State of play: In less than two weeks since officially kickstarting her campaign, Harris' celebrity support has helped her dominate the news cycle.
- Celebrity endorsements — including from George Clooney and even Barbara Streisand — have poured in. A shoutout from British pop star Charli XCX helped spawn countless memes that centered Harris in the pop culture conversation.
- Hollywood donors have resumed donations to the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, after witholding checks in the wake of Biden's debate performance, Deadline reported.
- Jeffrey Katzenberg, former movie mogul who now serves as co-chair of the Harris campaign, praised her as a "new inspiring leader who can take us forward" in an op-ed in the New York Times.
Flashback: In the aftermath of Biden's disastrous debate performance in June, many big Hollywood donors called on the president to drop out of the race.
- In one of the biggest blows, Clooney — who just weeks before had attended a glitzy fundraiser for Biden — called on Biden to leave the race, saying the Biden he saw at the fundraiser "wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020."
- Days ahead of Biden's withdrawal, his campaign co-chair, Katzenberg warned him privately that donors' checks were drying up, Semafor reported.
Go deeper: Zoom is the new political rally
