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50 Cent is back on the Trump train. A week after boasting that he’d turned down a purported nine-figure payday to appear at former and now-future President Donald Trump’s Madison Square Garden campaign stop, the “Wanksta” rapper appeared to be back in The Donald’s corner.
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“I don’t care how the fight goes, I’m leaving with the winner s–t,” 50 (born Curtis Jackson) wrote on Instagram on Wednesday morning (Nov. 6) in a post that featured two pictures of the rapper with Trump, who defied odds on Tuesday night to join Grover Cleveland as the only American to be voted into the nation’s top office to non-consecutive terms.
“I still don’t know what’s going on,” 50 added along with a face palm emoji and “congratulations!”
In an appearance on The Breakfast Club last week, 50 claimed that he’d been offered $3 million to appear at Trump’s MSG rally. “Yeah. They offered me $3 million!” said 50, confirming co-host Charlamagne Tha God’s query about that event, as well as reports that 50 was also offered an undisclosed amount to perform his song “Many Men” at this summer’s Republican National Convention as well.
50 did not appear at either event, explaining to the Breakfast Club crew why he rejected the lucrative offer. “I didn’t even go far,” he said of the offers. “I’m afraid of politics, you understand? I do not like it. … It’s because when you do get involved in it, no matter how you feel, somebody passionately disagrees with you. Look, if you say ‘I stay away from religion,’ I stay away from politics. Religion, that’s the formula for the confusion that it sent Kanye to Japan. He said something about both of those things and now he can only go to Japan. So you know I’m like I don’t want to get in that, man.”
At the time, a Trump campaign source told Billboard that the story was not true, though they did not specify which part was erroneous — that Trump wanted 50 at the rally or that the offer was $3 million.
After a comedian referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage” at Trump’s MSG event, a number of major Puerto Rican artists spoke out in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost Tuesday’s closely contested election to the former reality TV star who has continued to deny that he lost his second bid for the White House in 2020 to President Biden.
During that failed 2020 bid 50 initially supported the twice impeached former commander-in-chief before retracting his endorsement after former girlfriend Chelsea Handler called him out. “F–k Donald Trump, I never liked him,” the rapper later said in a retweet of Handler’s appearance on The Tonight Show in which she criticized her ex for his support of Trump, 78, who will become the oldest man, and first convicted felon, to ascend to the nation’s highest office when he is inaugurated on Jan. 20.
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Van Jones was one of several political commentators who took to the airwaves to deliver their thoughts about the results of Election Day, most especially the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. In his analysis, Van Jones was rendered emotional as he explained how a Trump presidency might not bode well for some, sparking some on X to take shots at the pundit.
Van Jones, 56, was on CNN after the results were largely confirmed and declaring Donald Trump the winner of the presidential race. Jones, speaking to the concerns of those who might feel vulnerable under Trump’s leadership, expressed what many Americans might be feeling and got choked up along the way.
“There are going to be people tomorrow who are going to be handing clothes at the dry cleaners to people who don’t have papers. There are going to be people who are going to be cleaning your teeth tomorrow who don’t have papers. And they are terrified tonight,” Jones said.
In regards to Black women, who largely rallied around Vice President Harris, Jones examined their emotional state.
“They thought tomorrow morning they were going to walk out with their shoulders back a little bit, maybe be able to breathe for the first time, and feel like they belong someplace. They did everything that they knew how to do, and it’s going to be harder than it should be tomorrow for them to hold their heads up, and they’re not the only people who are hurting tonight,” Jones continued.
Toward the end of his breakdown of the election, Jones, audibly choked up, said, “It’s people who woke up this morning with a dream and are going to bed with a nightmare.”
On X, Van Jones has become a target of critique over his emotional takes and today is no different. We’ve got those reactions listed below.
People woke up this morning with a big dream. They are going to wake up tomorrow in a nightmare. But we will find a way through. pic.twitter.com/uzR5DpYytk
— Van Jones (@VanJones68) November 6, 2024
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Photo: Getty
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Source: Arturo Holmes / Getty / Joy Reid
He did it. Orange Mussolini, aka Donald Trump, is going back to the White House, and MSNBC Joy Reid thinks he should be thanking white women for his comeback.
In the early morning of MSNBC’s 2024 election coverage, Joy Reid pointed out the obvious, “white women voters did not” show up for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Reid’s comments came as the state of North Carolina was projected to vote for Donald Trump. She told her colleagues, “We have to be blunt about why.”
“Black voters came through for Kamala Harris,” Reid said. “White women voters did not.”
She continued, “It’s a state where women lost their reproductive rights, where there was a very heavy push to get women to focus on not … putting back into the White House the person who was responsible for taking those rights away. And restoring them. But that message obviously was not enough to get enough white women to vote for Vice President Harris, a fellow woman.”
The longtime MSNBC anchor was referring to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 defeat at the hands of Donald Trump. She made sure to remind folks white women have been consistent in their failure to be on the right side of history, saying, “this will be the second opportunity that white women in this country have to change the way that they interact with the patriarchy.”
Where’s the lie?
“But if people aren’t receptive to it and if people vote more, you know, party line or more on race than on gender, and on protecting their gender, there’s really not much more that you can do but tell people what the risks are and leave it to them to do the right thing,” she ended her statement.
Social Media Agrees With Joy Reid
Once Donald Trump secured the 270 electoral college votes he needed and the breakdown of how the voting went, social media also felt the same way as Reid as the numbers show that white women and men and Latinos helped the twice impeached politician return to the Oval Office.
“As per usual white women vote for Trump while Black women remain the backbone of ethics and justice for this country,” one user on X, formally Twitter, wrote.
Another user wrote, “white women for Harris” the whole time they took their Stanley cups to vote for Trump.”
Deep negro spiritual sigh.
Well, we applaud Kamala Harris for putting herself out there and wanting to fight to keep Trump from winning a second term and enacting his evil Project 2025 agenda.
Here we go again.
You can see more reactions in the gallery below.
1. Exactly
2. Damn shame
5. Consistent in their foolishness
Sabrina Carpenter said “Please Please Please” and voters definitely listened. According to HeadCount.org, the singer got more voters engaged in Tuesday’s (Nov. 5) election than any other artist the organization works with. HeadCount said that Carpenter, 25, helped inspire 35,814 voter registrations and got another 263,087 voters to take other actions outside of registering (including checking their registration status and polling location).
“Through our partnerships with over 100 top music artists — like Sabrina Carpenter, Green Day, Ariana Grande, and so many others — HeadCount had a record-breaking year, registering over 450,000 new voters and engaging over 3 million more people to make sure they vote,” said the non-profit’s executive director, Lucille Wenegieme, in a statement. “Our model works because musicians and celebrities have a cultural cache and an intimate connection with their fans, especially among young people, whose identity as a fan of a particular artist can be even stronger than other aspects of their identity, including affiliation with a political party or candidate. We are so grateful to our artist partners and their teams for inspiring their fans to take control of their future.”
HeadCount said that it had a presence at more than 3,700 events this year as part of its “Good to Vote” campaign, where they registered nearly half a million new voters, with almost half of them between the ages of 18-24. Carpenter’s impressive numbers on her Short n’ Sweet tour including activating voters through giveaways, in-person activations and video boards and mailers. The partnership also included a sweepstakes offering fans the chance to see the tour by checking their registration status, with winners slated to be flown out to the singer’s Nov. 9 San Francisco show.
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In addition, on their globe-hopping stadium Saviors tour, pop-punk legends Green Day broke HeadCount’s all-time record for the most voters engaged on a single tour, registering more than 7,900 new voters and engaging over 61,000 voters through in-person activations on the outing; those figures nearly double the previous record set by Ariana Grande on her 2019 Sweetener world tour.
HeadCount — which works with hundreds of other touring artists including 5 Seconds of Summer, Brandi Carlile, Alicia Keys, Chappell Roan, Ariana Grande, Fall Out Boy, Billie Eilish, DRake, HAIM, Gracie Abrams, Harry Styles and others — has registered more than 1.5 million voters since 2004. This year, the group said it engaged over three million music fans to take action, another all-time record for the organization, with more than 80% of all voters it registered representing Gen Z or millennials.
During Puerto Rico’s Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5, Bad Bunny cast his vote early at Saint John’s School in San Juan. Dressed in a classic salsero style sporting shades, an open-buttoned tee and burgundy pants, the superstar took a moment to address undecided voters. “Listen to your heart,” he advised after submitting his ballot, […]
Azealia Banks has changed her mind about the presidential election. The mercurial MC best known for her frequent beefs with fellow celebs announced on Monday (Nov. 4) that she is now endorsing Democrat Kamala Harris over her previous commander-in-chief pick, Donald Trump.
Though the endorsement included a reference to the sitting Vice President as “stupid and incoherent” — as well as calling Harris’ VP pick, Gov. Tim Walz “trash” — Banks said she’s bailing on convicted felon Trump in large part because of her fears that the three-time presidential nominee will make good on his vow to give equally mercurial SpaceX/Tesla CEO Elon Musk a place in his potential second administration.
“I really think keeping Elon Musk away from any type of political power in the USA is tantamount to any issue on the table here. You have to be a complete idiot to think that dirtbag cares about anyone or anything other than himself,” Banks, 33, tweeted about Musk, who has become one of Trump’s biggest financial supporters and stumpers over the past month.
“He’s already been given way too much tax payer money – Allowing him to ascend to any position of political authority is very f–king dangerous,” wrote Banks in an attack on Musk featuring a string of provocative claims. “One does not become the richest man in the world because of honesty and good character lol, you must be an expert liar, thief and cheater to become that.” The tweet also included incendiary, unverified statements about Musk’s alleged business practices as well as his parenting and treatment of singer Grimes, who has two children with the tech billionaire; at press time a spokesperson for Musk had not returned Billboard‘s request for comment on Banks’ claims.
In 2016, Banks endorsed Trump and congratulated him following the former reality TV star’s win over former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton in that year’s election, offering to perform at his inauguration. While she was seemingly not invited to play that event, Trump was feted with sets from Toby Keith, Three Doors Down, Lee Greenwood, Jackie Evancho, DJ Ravidrums, the Piano Guys and a speech from actor Jon Voight. Last year, Banks said she would be supporting Trump again because she thought he was “f–king funny.”
NBC reported that Musk’s financial and stump support of Trump could be result in lucrative business wins for the world’s richest man, noting that the billionaire has turned X into “a pro-Trump echo chamber” over the past few months in the apparent expectation that Trump will offer up more tax breaks for the richest Americans and provide more government contracts for SpaceX. Musk has reportedly donated nearly $120 million to convicted the twice impeached former President’s third White House bid. Though he is not expected to have an official seat in a Trump cabinet owing to his many foreign business interests and government contracts, there are report that Musk could have an unofficial role as the “secretary of cost-cutting.”
Banks concluded her Harris endorsement tweet — one of dozens she posted on Monday in which she weighed in on everything from her distaste for iPhones and owning property in South Florida to a plea for Harris to “incentivize” men who don’t want to have children to get vasectomies — by explaining her latest swipe at Musk.
“I will be Voting For Kamala Harris tomorrow because Elon Musk (a f–king overrated Ketamine addict) belongs no where near American Politics. The End,” she wrote. Musk has spoken openly in the past about his use of prescription Ketamine, an anesthetic that has gained interest from doctors and researchers for its potential to treat depression and anxiety. In an interview with CNN earlier this year, Musk denied overusing Ketamine, saying, “if you use too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done. I have a lot of work, I’m typically putting in 16-hour days … so I don’t really have a situation where I can be not mentally acute for an extended period of time.”
The rapper — who has released just one full-length album to date, 2014’s Broke With Expensive Taste, along with a handful of EPs and mixtapes — referred to an overnight stay at Musk’s home in 2018 as being akin to “a real life episode of ‘Get Out‘”; she later apologized for those remarks.
Banks’ 11th hour support for Harris comes after a galaxy of A-listers have lined up behind the VP, including: Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX and many more.
Dick Van Dyke reached back 60 years on Monday (Nov. 4) to a time when the United States was riven by racial animus and division to remind voters that such emotions are not, and should not, be the norm. The 98-year-old Hollywood legend and Mary Poppins star posted a black-and-white video on his socials endorsing Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris a day before voters took to the polls to weigh in on the neck-and-neck race between the sitting Democrat Vice President and former command-in-chief Donald Trump.
“Fifty years ago – May 31, 1964 — I was on the podium with Dr. Martin Luther King” he said of the Religious Witness for Human Dignity event held by the late civil rights leader in front of 60,000 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. “I was there to read a message written by Rod Serling, the guy who wrote The Twilight Zone. I got it out the other day, and I think it means as much today, if not more, than it did then. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to read it,” Van Dyke said.
The beloved actor and singer then read a selection from Serling’s note, which was entitled “A Most Non-Political Speech,” reprising his recitation at the King event more than half a century ago. “Hatred is not the norm. Prejudice is not the norm. Suspicion, dislike, jealousy, scapegoating, none of those are the transcendent facet of the human personality. They’re diseases,” Van Dyke said. “They are the cancers of the soul. They are the infectious and contagious viruses that have been breeding humanity for years. And because they have been and because they are, is it necessary that they shall be? I think not.”
With the trademark sparkle in his eye and warmth in his voice, Van Dyke continued. “If there’s one voice left to say ‘welcome’ to a stranger, if there’s one hand outstretched to say ‘enter and share,’ if there’s one mind remaining to think a thought of warmth and friendship, then there’s a future in which we’ll find more than one hand, more than one voice and more than one mind dedicated to the cause of man’s equality. Wishful? Hopeful? Unassured? Problematical and not to be guaranteed, that’s all true.”
He added, “But again, on this spring evening of 1964, a little of man’s awareness has shown itself. A little of his essential decency, his basic goodness, his preeminent dignity, has been made a matter of record. There will be moments of violence and expressions of hatred and an ugly re-echo of intolerance, but these are the clinging vestiges of a decayed past, not the harbingers of the better, cleaner future.”
The powerful message from Van Dyke came as both Trump and Harris were delivering their final messages to supporters on Monday night (Nov. 4), both in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania. Harris was joined in Philadelphia by a galaxy of A-list stars — including Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and The Roots — during an address where she once again vowed to fight for the future of all Americans.
“We love our country. And when you love something, you fight for it,” Harris said in an address just before midnight. “I do believe it is one of the highest forms of patriotism, of our expression of our love for our country, to then fight for its ideals and to fight to realize the promise of America… America is ready for a fresh start, ready for a new way forward, where see our fellow Americans not as an enemy, but as a neighbor.”
Also speaking in Pennsylvania, Trump — who would be the oldest person ever elected president at 78 — stuck to his foreboding, grievance-filled stump speech, vowing to invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 in an effort at the mass deportation of illegal migrants he has promised on day one of his potential second administration. He also once again referred to Harris as a “radical left Marxist” and promised to “get critical race theory and transgender insanity the hell out of our schools” in the closing argument of a campaign in which he has questioned Harris’ racial identity and sought to lure Latino voters to his side despite recently featuring a comedian at his New York rally who called Puerto Rico a “floating island of garbage.” Referring to the U.S. as an “occupied country” on Monday, Trump also again falsely claimed that “a lot of bad things” happened in the 2020 election he lost to President Biden.
In his recitation, Van Dyke — who did not mention either candidate, but did encourage his fans to vote and included hashtags for Harris — added a most poignant bit from Serling. “To those who tell us that the inequality of the human animal is the necessary evil, we must respond by simply saying that first, it is evil, but not necessary. We prove it, sitting here tonight, in 1964. We prove it by affirming our faith. We prove it by having faith in our affirmations,” he said.
The reading ended with a quote from 19th century abolitionist and U.S. House Rep. Horace Mann, “‘Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity.’ I’d like to paraphrase that tonight. ‘Let us be ashamed to live without that victory,’” Van Dyke said, lamenting that “a lot” has happened since then, but perhaps not as much as MLK dreamed of. “But it’s a start,” Van Dyke smiled.
Van Dyke joins a long roster of major stars who’ve supported Harris’ campaign, a list that includes: Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, LeBron James, George Clooney, Jennifer Lopez, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Roberts, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Sarah Jessica Parker, Charli XCX, Arnold Schwarzenegger and many more.
Pollsters have repeatedly claimed that Trump and Harris are in a neck-and-neck race, with most predicting that results will likely not be finalized when voting ends on Tuesday night (Nov. 5). If you are not sure where your polling place is, click here to find out.
Watch Van Dyke read Serling’s message below.
Rihanna has the presidential election on the brain — and she’s clapping right back at anyone who disagrees with her.
After the Fenty mogul, who was encouraging her followers to vote, joked on Instagram Monday (Nov. 4) about wanting to “sneak into the polls” to vote using her son’s American passport, some detractors took aim at Ri — who is a citizen of Barbados — in the comments. But as usual, the “Stay” singer got the last word, replying to several trolls with biting comebacks.
To someone who wrote that Ri “shouldn’t be posting [her] political opinions” and should instead “stick to music sis,” for instance, the billionaire businesswoman replied with a reference to the 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, “Where were you in Jan 6 sis? Stick to your discounted crotch. We out here fighting for its rights!”
When another person wrote that Rihanna “should be arrested” for “illegal voting,” the nine-time Grammy winner simply commented in response, “shut up Karen.”
“you’re f–ked! And so is the America you dream of,” Ri added to someone who wrote that they’d voted for Republican nominee Donald Trump as “abortions are probably nowhere near as important as y’all are making it seem.”
Rihanna’s original post came one day ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election. In it, the star — one of countless other superstar musicians — appears to be backing Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. Along with a video of herself staring out the window of a moving car, the “Diamonds” musician captioned the clip “when protecting p–sies and firing p–sies can happen all in one vote” and added the hashtags “#votecauseicant” and “#tansuitseason,” the latter of which appears to be in reference to the VP’s viral outfit at the Democratic National Convention in August.
And though Ri is proud to be from her home country in the Carribean — “I LOVE my Bajan passport! I came here to work and pay taxes! You’re welcome,” she explained in another comment — the artist is invested in the 2024 presidential race. As she alluded to in her post, Ri is mom to two American sons, 2-year-old RZA and 9-month-old Riot Rose, whom she shares with A$AP Rocky.
And to one fan who jokingly asked whether Ri had indeed made it into the polls, she replied, “not yet sis! But I’m sleeping outside to make sure the navy shows up.”
See Rihanna’s post below.
As part of his closing argument to voters on Monday (Nov. 4), former President Donald Trump took yet another shot at Beyoncé for the R&B superstar’s support of rival Kamala Harris. While the current Vice President was headlining a star-studded event in Philadelphia with the likes of Lady Gaga, Oprah Winfrey, Ricky Martin and hometown heroes the Roots, Trump once again hit out at a recent appearance by Queen Bey at a Harris rally in the singer’s hometown of Houston.
“Everyone’s expecting a couple of songs, and there were no songs,” Trump, 78, claimed about the Oct. 25 event where the 32-time Grammy winner appeared with her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to urge Texans to support the Harris/Walz ticket on election day (Nov. 5). “There was no happiness. It’s just like, ‘give me my check. I want to get out of here,’” Trump claimed about Beyoncé’s appearance.
At the rally last month, the singer joyfully voiced her backing for Harris, saying, “We are so happy to be standing here on this stage as proud, country, Texas women supporting and celebrating the one and only Vice President Kamala Harris. A woman who’s been pushing for what this country really needs right now: unity. It’s impossible not to feel the energy in this room, the positivity, the community, the humanity. We are at the precipice of an incredible shift. The brink of history.”
She added, “I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother. A mother who cares, deeply, about the world my children and all of our children live in. A world where we have the freedom to control our bodies. A world where we’re not divided. Our past, our present, our future merge to meet us here.”
In addition to boosting Harris in Houston, Beyoncé gave the campaign direct approval to use her 2016 song “Freedom” as its campaign song. Bey’s camp later sent a cease-and-desist to the Trump campaign for featuring “Freedom” in a social media campaign video from a spokesperson; that video was later taken down in the latest example of a musician asking Trump to stop using their music for his campaign.
On Monday in the crucial swing state of Pennsylvania, Trump also brushed off the lack of star power at his recent events in comparison to the many A-list actors and musicians who’ve lined up behind the Vice President, adding, “Just to bring it back into seriousness, we don’t need a star because we have policy.” His event was warmed up by former Democrat U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, conservative commentator Megyn Kelly — whom Trump insulted with a crude, sexist remark about menstruation after she moderated a 2015 presidential debate — and the son of late baseball legend Robert Clemente Jr.
Though he has repeatedly said celebrity support doesn’t matter, Trump’s campaign has welcomed endorsements by country singers Jason Aldean and Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as Amber Rose, former reality star Savannah Chrisley, Caitlyn Jenner, Kid Rock, Dr. Phil, Elon Musk, Azealia Banks, Kanye West, Joe Rogan and Lil Pump.
He has seemed particularly peeved by Beyoncé’s support for Harris, whose campaign has rolled up a galaxy of A-list supporters over the past few months, including Taylor Swift, Cardi B, Eminem, Scarlett Johansson, Ricky Martin, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Bad Bunny, Harrison Ford, Cher, Usher, Olivia Rodrigo, Madonna, Kesha, Billie Eilish, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX and many more.
A week after Beyoncé’s Houston speech, Trump took to the stage in Green Bay, WI dressed as a garbage man, where he again stressed that he didn’t need help from celebrities. “Four nights ago they got Beyoncé… uhhhh Beyoncé,” he said, pausing while audience appeared to boo the singer. “They got Beyoncé,” he repeated. “We don’t need Beyoncé, we don’t need anybody… all you got is me, and I don’t have a guitar.”
The Harris campaign never announced that Beyoncé was expected to sing in Houston and at the Green Bay event, though Trump added, “Ladies and gentlemen, they said Beyoncé’s coming to sing and she came but she didn’t sing. And then Kamala came on as Beyoncé was leaving without singing even one song and they booed the hell out of both of them”; there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim that the 30,000-plus Harris supporters booed Beyoncé’s appearance.
According to pollsters, Trump and Harris are in a neck-and-neck race, with most predicting that results may not be finalized as soon as voting ends on Tuesday night. If you are not sure where your polling place is, click here to find out.
Watch Trump’s comments about Beyoncé in Pittsburgh below.
Lady Gaga gave her closing argument for electing Kamala Harris President on Monday night (Nov. 4) at an epic rally for the Vice President who is vying to become the nation’s first female commander-in-chief. The singer took the stage in Philadelphia on the eve of Tuesday’s (Nov. 5) election day with a crucial message about the nation’s future and a poignant song choice to drive that point home.
“For more than half of this country’s life, women didn’t have a voice,” Gaga, seat at a piano, said after performing Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” in her introductory performance before Harris took the stage just before midnight at the star-studded last rally of her historic campaign. “Yet we raised children. We held our families together. We supported men as they made the decisions. But tomorrow, women will be a part of making this decision,” Gaga continued at the event where she later performed her hit “Edge of Glory” for the 30,000 supporters gathered in the cold at the base of the famous Rocky steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
“Today I am holding in my heart all the tough, tenacious women who made me who I am. I cast my vote for someone who will be a president for all Americans,” Gaga said while speaking to voters in the all-important swing state that could hold the key to victory for Harris — or for rival Donald Trump. “And now, Pennsylvania, it’s your turn. The country is depending on you. So tomorrow make sure all your voices are heard. Come on, let’s go!” she added before introducing Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff.
The “Vote For Freedom” event hosted by DJ Cassidy — who famously also was behind the decks for the musical DNC roll call this summer — also included the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am performing his new song for Harris, “YES SHE CAN,” as the Democratic candidate asked the gathered crowd, “Are we ready to vote? Are we ready to win?” The roster of guests stumping for Harris also included DJ Jazzy Jeff, Fat Joe and Oprah Winfrey, as well as Ricky Martin, Jazmine Sullivan, Andra Day, DJ D-Nice, the Roots, while twice impeached former President Trump made his final pitch in Pittsburgh.
Sullivan made it personal during a cover of Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going On,” telling the crowd, “they’re trying to take away our reproductive freedom. What’ goin’ right now?” In the wake of announcing his support for Harris after a recent Trump rally in New York where a warm-up comedian referred to Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage,” P.R. native Martin fronted a big band for a run through his signature song “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” He also had a poignant message for voters: “Kamala Harris is for us,” he said. “She’s for unity, she’s for all Americans.”
Martin was introduced by Fat Joe, who said he came to represent Puerto Ricans as well. “Kamala Harris is for us. She’s for unity, she’s for all Americans – Black, white, big, small, Latino, you name it,” he said. “She’s for us. One thing I won’t do is sell my soul for anybody. If I’m out here telling you she’s the one, it’s because I know she’s the one.”
With parallel satellite gatherings in the swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Nevada, Arizona and N. Carolina, the hourslong livestream also had Harris jumping over to Pittsburgh, where Katy Perry played a set of hits, while James Taylor entertained the crowd in Raleigh, N.C. with, naturally, “Carolina On My Mind” as well as “Something in the Way She Moves”; Fantasia, Sugarland and Remi Wolf were also on hand in Raleigh. Jon Bon Jovi beamed in from Michigan to perform the Bon Jovi classic “Living on a Prayer” with The War and Treaty, as well as teaming up for their new song, “The People’s House.”
In addition, 2 Chainz, Keyshia Cole, Anthony Hamilton and Ciara took the stage in Atlanta.
Christina Aguilera was the headliner at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas — along with regional Mexican band Los Tigres Del Norte and dance duo Sofi Tukker — telling the crowd, “Tonight, I’m here in honor of the people who have fought to give us the privilege to be heard. Let’s raise our voices and vote for freedom,” before performing her 2002 single “Fighter,” according to USA Today. Xtina also gave the crowd her power ballad “Beautiful” and her Pitbull collab, “Feel This Moment.”
Before exiting to her campaign’s theme song, Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” Harris told the enthusiastic crowd, “We started this fight 107 days ago. And it has not been a fight against something, but a fight for something. It’s about our love for our country, and our faith in a future that we will build together with energy and joy … Generations of Americans have led the fight for freedom. And now the baton is in our hands.”
Watch highlights from Monday night’s events here and check out footage of Gaga’s “Edge of Glory” at Harris campaign event below, as well as performances from Aguilera and Perry.
.@ladygaga endorses Kamala Harris: “Today, I’m holding in my heart all the tough, tenacious women who made me who I am. I cast my vote for someone who will be a president for all Americans. Tomorrow, let’s make sure all your voices are heard” pic.twitter.com/utTBhpIHIU— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) November 5, 2024
.@KatyPerry endorses Kamala Harris: “Four years ago, I became a mother… She is the reason I am voting for Kamala Harris. I know she will protect my daughter’s future and your children’s future” pic.twitter.com/P0hVeUnUuz— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) November 5, 2024