DNC Showrunners Finally Explain What Went Down With That Beyoncé Rumor

Glenn Weiss and Ricky Kirshner, who directed and executive produced the four-day event, said Monday that their own staff didn't believe them.
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Beyoncé fans are finally getting some answers after a rumored DNC appearance from the superstar never materialized.

Many online were speculating that the Grammy winner would endorse Vice President Kamala Harris with a performance Thursday night at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, only for an enthusiastic Beyhive to go to bed disappointed.

Director Glenn Weiss and executive producer Ricky Kirshner, who were responsible for the entertainment during the convention, revealed Monday that Beyoncé was never scheduled to perform.

“This is the internet taking on a life of its own and people taking something as fact — literally to the point that people in my booth are saying, ‘Is she coming? You can tell me,’” Weiss told The Hollywood Reporter. “And I would say ‘I have no knowledge she’s coming.’”

“And they would say ‘No knowledge? So there’s something to know!’ It was pretty crazy,” he continued. “But she wasn’t coming. In the end even TMZ [which first reported it] had to issue an apology.”

The rumor spread like wildfire on social media and left countless fans convinced that the “Texas Hold ’Em” singer was about to endorse Harris as the Democratic nominee in this year’s election against former President Donald Trump, but Kirshner said he is still confused about how this happened in the first place.

“We never put out anything about Beyonce,” Kirshner told the outlet. “We denied it every time the media asked us — even though, by the way, people on my staff didn’t believe me. I kept getting texts from news organizations saying, ‘When is Beyoncé coming out?’”

While rumors swirled on X, formerly Twitter, TMZ reported that Beyoncé was “getting ready to pop out,” citing “multiple sources in the know.” The singer previously performed for then-nominee Hillary Clinton in 2016 and allowed Harris to use her song “Freedom” on the campaign trail.

Lil Jon performed at the DNC, which averaged nearly 3 million more viewers than the RNC.
Lil Jon performed at the DNC, which averaged nearly 3 million more viewers than the RNC.
Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images

“This why Beyoncé made a song named America Has a Problem and then told us the problem is her cause look at us,” wrote one user on X, with another posting: “whoever started the lie about Beyoncé attending the DNC, you will begin to cough in 3 days.”

The convention, which brought out celebrities like Spike Lee, Eva Longoria and rapper Lil Jon, was still a success for the Democratic Party nonetheless.

The DNC outperformed the RNC — which featured fading stars like Kid Rock and Hulk Hogan — in terms of viewers, earning nearly 3 million more viewers on average.

While he presumably wouldn’t have minded snagging Beyoncé, Kirshner says the premise begged a deeper question.

“But come on, we have the biggest star, the Democratic nominee for president. Why would we overshadow that?” he told THR.

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