DNC organizers have 99 problems — and Beyoncé is all of them.
Democratic National Convention delegates and excited viewers who tuned in on the final night were sorely disappointed when Queen Beyoncé failed to make an appearance, despite rumors and reports that the superstar would be appearing.
Rumors of Beyoncé taking the stage at Chicago’s United Center reached a fever pitch on Thursday. After TMZ reported The “Run the World” hitmaker was due to perform as a special guest ahead of Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech at the convention.
A representative for the megastar was forced to deny the reports minutes before Harris was due to formally accept the Democratic presidential nomination. He told The Hollywood Reporter Beyoncé “wasn’t supposed to be there”
The show went on, the “Single Ladies” singer didn’t show up, leaving everyone to wonder what happened.
The confirmation by TMZ caused a frenzy among “Behive,” the nickname given to Beyoncé’s fans, but clues had already built anticipation.
Vice President Harris has used Beyonce’s song “Freedom” at campaign rallies and performed the hit on stage at the convention on Monday, further fueling speculation that was already circulating online that she supported him.
Outgoing senator and 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney also joined the effort.
“Contrary to what Fake News posts say, I am not the surprise guest at tonight’s DNC. My guess is Beyonce or Taylor Swift. This is very disappointing but I know!” He joked about X.
People inside the arena also reported that the convention’s house band was using Beyoncé songs for soundcheck. According to Vox.
Beyonce also supported President Biden and Ms Harris in the 2020 election and raised money for former President Barack Obama’s campaign in 2012.
As the rumors intensified, White House political director Amy Lewis added fuel to the fire. On Thursday at around 4:30 p.m., X posted a bee emoji.She later claimed that a 6-year-old child had stolen her phone and posted pictures of the bees.
TMZ later appeared to confirm this, citing DNC sources, reporting that the superstar was planning to take to the stage to endorse Harris.
Celebrity gossip media was forced to apologize after the 32-time Grammy Award winner was nowhere to be seen when she took the stage and spoke for nearly 40 minutes.
Angry Staffer, one of the X accounts that reportedly first started the speculation frenzy, also apologized for its role in the mess.
“I don’t like giving wrong information. It’s my fault. It’s my mistake.” An anonymous gossip-lover wrote:He added that those who said another celebrity guest was due to appear were “not prone to exaggeration.”
“People at the DNC also heard Beyoncé was at the venue, so whoever started the rumor misled us all,” they claimed.
The DNC did not respond to a request from The Washington Post seeking comment on the shakeup.
Still, that didn’t stop people online from speculating that this whole incident was all one big conspiracy, even though Beyoncé’s team denied that it was true.
“I think TMZ did this on purpose to get people to watch,” the Calvin Coolidge Project said. He responded to TMZ’s apology post.
Dozens of other commenters suggested that TMZ, known for breaking even tight-lipped celebrity news, and DNC organizers were conspiring to draw more attention to Harris’ appearance.
“How much did they pay you guys to promote this?” one X user quipped.
Another article went so far as to claim that TMZ “misled the American people” by promising a Beyonce concert that never happened.
