Beyoncé to appear alongside Harris at Texas rally
Beyoncé is set to join Vice President Kamala Harris at a rally in Texas on Friday, as reported by CBS News, the BBC’s US news partner, citing a source close to the event.
The singer’s appearance in her hometown of Houston comes just 11 days before the election on November 5.
While Harris frequently plays Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” at her campaign events, the singer has largely stayed off the campaign trail until now.
Earlier this summer, there were speculations that Beyoncé would make an appearance on Harris’s behalf at the Democratic National Convention in August, but she did not attend.
On Friday, Harris will speak alongside Texas Democratic Senate candidate Colin Allred at the rally.
Additionally, country music legend Willie Nelson and Beyoncé’s mother, Tina Knowles, are also expected to attend the event.
Beyoncé has a long-standing history of supporting Democratic presidential candidates; in 2016, she performed alongside her husband Jay-Z at a rally for Hillary Clinton.
Harris has already garnered endorsements from numerous prominent musicians, including Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, Eminem, Cher, Marc Anthony, Lizzo, and Neil Young, as well as many actors and performers.
Former President Donald Trump has also received endorsements from several notable figures, including Tesla founder Elon Musk, former IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, actor Jon Voight, celebrity chef Paula Deen, former NFL star Brett Favre, actor Kelsey Grammer, and singers Kid Rock and Kanye West.
Celebrity endorsements can often energize support for a political candidate and motivate people to vote.
Ashley Spillane, the author of a Harvard Kennedy School study that looked into the impact of celebrities when it comes to voter registration told the BBC that celebrities are among the “most well-positioned members of society” when it comes to dealing with causes of voter apathy, such as “lack of information, lack of trust and lack of motivation”.
But celebrity endorsements are not always effective. Following Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Harris, a Quinnipiac University poll from late September indicated that Swift’s endorsement of Harris made 9% of respondents “more enthusiastic” about her candidacy, while it made 13% “less enthusiastic”.