Media outlets ripped over claim that Beyoncé would perform at Kamala Harris rally: ‘Bait and switch’
Several prominent media outlets faced backlash last week for inaccurately suggesting that Beyoncé would perform at Vice President Kamala Harris’ rally in Houston, Texas.
The Houston-born singer, whose hit song “Freedom” has been adopted by the vice president as her campaign trail anthem, spoke ahead of Harris and introduced her at the event, which leaned heavily into reproductive rights.
Ahead of the event, USA Today published a headline, “Watch live: Beyoncé returns to hometown of Houston to perform at Kamala Harris rally.” The article also included a video livestream counting down to the singer’s performance — which never materialized.
A similar claim came from NPR, which touted the coalition of Beyoncé fans and Harris supporters.
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A USA Today piece asked viewers to tune in and watch Beyoncé perform live from Houston at the Kamala Harris rally. (USA Today/Screenshot)
“BeyHive meets KHive: Beyoncé set to perform at Houston rally for Harris,” the headline read.
Vanity Fair also highlighted a source outside the Harris campaign who claimed Beyoncé was expected to perform “Freedom” for those in attendance.
“Asked by Vanity Fair whether the Grammy Award winner, whose track “Freedom” has become something of a personal theme song for the candidate, would be at the Friday rally, a Harris campaign spokesperson would only say, “We can’t confirm.” They did not, however, issue a denial,” the outlet added.
Voices on MSNBC also hyped up a performance from the pop star, often citing an NBC News report that highlighted sources close to the rally.
“Three sources told NBC News that Beyoncé will appear at the Friday rally in her hometown. One of the sources with direct knowledge of the preparations said the ‘Texas Hold’ Em’ singer will also perform,” MSNBC reported.
Trump senior adviser Tim Murtaugh highlighted the inaccurate claims in an October 26 tweet that noted MSNBC treated the news of Beyoncé’s performance as a breaking news story.
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NPR claimed that Beyoncé was “set to perform” at Kamala Harris’ Friday rally in Houston, Texas. (NPR/Screenshot)
“THEY LIED TO BUILD A CROWD,” he wrote at the time.
“Y’all thought y’all were gonna catch a free Beyoncé concert,” one X user joked.
Others suggested Beyoncé fans were “bamboozled” at the Harris rally and her campaign had engaged in “Bait and switch crowd building.”
The controversy also caught the attention of former President Trump, who parroted critics who claimed that Harris and the media had intentionally misled attendees into thinking that the pop star would perform.
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“Beyoncé went up and spoke for a couple of minutes and then left, and the place went crazy,” Trump told a crowd in Michigan. “They booed the hell out of everybody. They thought she was going to perform. What happened was my opponent got up and started speaking, and they booed the hell out of her. It’s crazy. They have to use people to get people to come, and then they send buses. We don’t send buses. Everybody comes. We’re just going to make America great again. It’s very simple.”
The Harris campaign did not go on record when Fox News Digital asked for comment.
NPR, MSNBC, NBC News, USA Today and Vanity Fair did not immediately return Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Fox News’ Andrew Mark Miller contributed to this report.
