Beyoncé to join Kamala Harris at Democrat’s rally with ‘Freedom’ as campaign anthem

Philadelphia: Beyoncé is set to make an appearance on Friday in her hometown of Houston at a rally for Vice President Kamala Harris, according to three sources familiar with the event. Harris’ presidential campaign has adopted Beyoncé’s 2016 song “Freedom” as its anthem, adding star power to the key theme of freedom that the Democratic nominee is promoting.

Harris is visiting the traditionally Republican state just 10 days before Election Day, aiming to refocus her campaign against former President Donald Trump on reproductive care, an issue Democrats consider crucial this year. The sources, who wished to remain anonymous, said the Harris campaign has not yet commented on the appearance.

Beyoncé’s presence is expected to attract more attention to the rally and to Harris' final campaign message. During her Houston visit, Harris will feature women impacted by Texas' strict abortion laws, which were implemented after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. She has also campaigned in other states with similar restrictions, including Georgia, which is one of the seven key battleground states.

Harris is framing her campaign around the idea that Trump poses a threat to American freedoms, including reproductive rights, LGBTQ rights, and safety from gun violence. Beyoncé granted Harris permission to use “Freedom” in her first campaign ad, and Harris has been using its powerful chorus as her exit song at rallies ever since.

This isn't the first time Beyoncé has supported a Democratic politician. In 2009, she performed at a presidential inaugural ball for Barack and Michelle Obama. She also sang the national anthem at Obama’s second inauguration in 2013 and performed at a pre-election concert for Hillary Clinton in 2016. “Look how far we’ve come from having no voice to being on the brink of history — again,” Beyoncé said at the time. “But we have to vote.”

A recent poll by Ipsos for the nonprofit With Honor found that 64 percent of Democrats view Beyoncé favourably, compared to just 32 percent of Republicans. Overall, Americans are more likely to have a positive opinion of her, with 48 percent favouring her and 33 percent not.

Speculation over whether the superstar would appear at this summer’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago reached a fever pitch on the gathering’s final night, with online rumors swirling after celebrity news site TMZ posted a story that said: “Beyoncé is in Chicago, and getting ready to pop out for Kamala Harris on the final night of the Democratic convention.” The site attributed it to “multiple sources in the know,” none of them named.

About an hour after Harris ended her speech, TMZ updated its story to say, “To quote the great Beyoncé: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down ... we got this one wrong.” In the end, Harris took the stage to star’s song, but that was its only appearance.

Last year, Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, attended Beyoncé’s Renaissance World Tour in Maryland after getting tickets from Beyonce herself. “Thanks for a fun date night, @Beyonce,” Harris wrote on Instagram.

Agency