DNC Producer Sets The Record Straight On Beyonce’s Rumored Appearance

The Democratic National Convention was a star-studded event. Lil Jon showed up to perform. Kenan Thompson did a comedic bit onstage. There was even sightings of Oscar-winning director Spike Lee in the crowd. The one celebrity everybody wanted to see, though, was Beyonce. The internet reached a fever pitch during the multi-day event, determining that Queen Bey would give a surprise performance and endorse Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. This, of course, didn’t happen. Beyonce did not show up, and fans were disappointed. The producers for the event, however, are not accepting the blame.

Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss, the executive producer and director of the DNC, broke their silence on the Beyonce rumors August 27. They made it very clear from the onset that Beyonce was never involved with the event. Furthermore, Kirschner told The Hollywood Reporter that he denied the rumors at every opportunity, so that fans wouldn’t be upset. “We never put out anything about Beyonce,” he asserted. “We denied it every time the media asked us. Even though people on my staff didn’t believe me. I kept getting texts from news organizations…”

The executive producer never intended to recruit Beyonce, because he felt her presence would have overshadowed the star of the DNC: Kamala Harris. “We have the biggest star, the Democratic nominee for president,” Kirshner noted. “Why would we overshadow that?” To be fair to the fans, Kamala Harris has aligned herself with Beyonce multiple times. The politician praised Beyonce’s latest album, Cowboy Carter, on social media. She walked out to the Beyonce song “Freedom” when it was first announced she would be running for President. And, Queen Bey’s mother, Tina Knowles, has openly endorsed Harris.

Glenn Weiss, the aforementioned director of the DNC, laid the rumor completely at the feet of people online. “This is the Internet taking on a life of its own and people taking something as fact,” he stated. “Literally to the point that people in my booth are saying: ‘Is she coming? You can tell me.'” Weiss also pointed out that TMZ picked up the rumor, and later had to issue an apology. “It was pretty crazy,” he concluded. “But she wasn’t coming.”