Trump's celeb hate game: Beyonce booed at Green Bay rally as Latino stars like Selena Gomez hit back at Puerto Rico joke

Author:Ashima Grover 2024-10-31 12:50 11

Beyonce isn't the first, and probably won't be the last A-list celebrity on Donald Trump’s hate agenda.

Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump campaigns in Green Bay, Wisconsin, U.S. October 30, 2024.(REUTERS)

In September, the former US president unleashed his all-caps “I HATE TAYLOR SWIFT” confession on Truth Social, divulging his impassioned resentment towards the billionaire pop star for her official endorsement of his Democratic rival Kamala Harris for president. Beyonce has now joined her perceived musical rival as another influential superstar Trump does not vibe with. After months of poking the Eras Tour creator’s fanbase by ripping off Swift’s characteristic merchandise aesthetic, the Republican leader came after the Beyhive on Wednesday, October 30, during his Green Bay rally in Wisconsin.

Also read | Another Trump groping allegation surfaces: Pageant queen says he ‘tried to lift’ her dress, lured her to NY hotel room

Trump's Beyonce roast prompts boos again

The feisty former POTUS not only ripped the “Cowboy Carter” hitmaker for endorsing Vice President Harris, but he also roasted her for not singing at her Houston rally this past weekend. The presidential hopeful even sparked a viral TikTok trend two days ago when his comments about the Texas-native global star joining the sitting VP had the Internet in a chokehold. “Joe Biden is asleep. Kamala is at a dance party with Beyonce,” he said during a rally in Traverse City, Michigan, on October 25.

His initial sing-songy diss prompting boos at the Friday rally pushed off a second round of roasts targetting Queen Bey on October 30. In light of President Joe Biden’s “garbage” comments, Trump suited himself in an orange and yellow vest as he bashed Beyonce for not belting high notes at the Harris rally despite her global pop star status.

Last Friday, Beyonce was upfront about not being at the Democratic nominee’s rally as either a celebrity or a politician but rather “a mother who cares deeply about the world my children and our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.” Her Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland also joined her on stage. Despite the momentous reunion, they did not show off their pipes contrary to previous rumours, maintaining the seriousness of the campaign event as Harris doubled down on her arguments for abortion rights.

On the other hand, 91-year-old legend Willie Nelson courted the rallygoers with a performance. Actress Jessica Alba also supported the Dems presidential hopeful at the event.

The aftermath witnessed netizens turning into critics due to the missed opportunity as someone furiously professed on X/Twitter, “So let get this straight, Kamala Harris baited people with a free Beyonce concert and then had Willie Nelson perform. Talk about a bunch of pissed-off concert goers.”

Also read | Trump MSG vs Harris Ellipse rally crowd size: Sold-out campaign events compared

Trump claims Harris campaign misled people into thinking Beyonce would perform

Prior to Beyonce’s official attendance at the rally, US-based publications blew speculations of her performing at the event out of the water, much like TMZ falsely informed readers previously that she would be performing at the Democratic National Convention. No official confirmations of Queen Bey unloading a free concert in Houston were issued beforehand. Trump, however, falsely claimed at his Wednesday rally that it was officially announced that the “Halo” artist would perform. “They said Beyonce is coming to sing, and she came but she didn’t sing. And then Kamala came on as Beyonce was leaving without singing even one song, and they booed the hell out of both of them.”

Was Kamala Harris booed at the Houston rally?

Amir Odom, a Black, gay liberal-turned-conservative influencer, eventually released his commentary on his “experience at the Kamala Harris rally with Beyonce.” His over 35-minute video ascertains that many people booed throughout the rally, but they did so for various reasons. From technical difficulties to the event organising staff, everything invited criticism. 

As for if these boos were directed at Harris, Odom said, “Yes, there were hecklers all around. There were Palestine people, there were people that were booing at her in general, that didn’t like her.. There were people that were booing at her throughout her whole speech… You got people booing coz they can’t see, you got people booing coz they don’t like her and then we have the people that are booing at the people that are booing Kamala,” he elaborated. Although he does not mention people voicing their verbal disapproval of Beyonce’s non-concert outing, later in the video, he determined that a major chunk of rallygoers left early when Beyonce got off stage after welcoming Harris to address the crowd.

In addition to Beyonce putting her support behind the Democratic leader, famous people like Eminem, Bruce Springsteen, Samuel L Jackson, James Taylor and many more also gave their approval to Harris making rally stops last week.

Trump, who’s himself a former TV star, has visibly voiced his disgruntlement about celeb appearances at his rival’s rallies after they didn’t support him. On the flip side, when a star-studded lineup did arrive to back him up at his recent Madison Square Garden rally in NYC, streams of vulgar, misogynistic and racist comments poured out during opening speeches from the likes of comedian Tony Hinchcliffe.

Read more | Catch all the newsmakers, detailed explainers and deep analysis of the US. Elections

Latino stars against Trump

The Kill Tony podcast host, who has now gone viral for his off-handed jokes about Puerto Rico being a “floating pile of garbage,” has further prompted Latin American celebrities to sit behind Harris instead of Trump. Moreover, a Puerto Rican reggaeton singer who actually vouched for the former president has now renounced his endorsement in light of the MAGA comic’s incongruous remarks. Nicky Jam, who previously threw his support behind Trump at a Las Vegas rally, made a U-turn this week. “The reason why I supported Donald Trump was because I thought he was the best for the economy in the United States, where many Latinos live, many of us Latinos live, myself included, many immigrants who are suffering because of the economy and him, being a businessman, I thought it was the best move,” he said in a video statement shared on his Instagram page.

“Never in my life did I think that a month later a comedian was going to come to criticise my country and speak badly of my country and therefore, I renounce any support for Donald Trump, and I sidestep any political situation. Respect Puerto Rico, Nicky Jam.”

Grammy-award-winning Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny, the world’s most famous Puerto Rican entertainer Jennifer Lopez and Mexican pop rock band also instantly aligned themselves with the Harris-Walz campaign after Trump’s MSG rally.

After the singer endorsed Trump, the latter band even pulled its 2016 Nicky Jam collaboration De Pies a Cabeza from streaming platforms after the singer endorsed Trump. “Mana doesn’t work with racists,” the band wrote in Spanish on Instagram. “For the past 30 years, Maná has supported and defended the rights of Latinos around the world. There is no business or promotion that is worth more than the dignity of our people. That is why today Maná decided to remove its collaboration with Nicky Jam on ‘Pies a Cabeza’ from all digital platforms.” Mana and JLo will be campaigning for Harris at a Las Vegas rally on Thursday, October 31. Like Beyonce, Lopez is expected to only speak about the importance of voting while the Mexican band performs.

Adding to that list, beloved actress-singer Selena Gomez, who shares Mexican heritage, has also spoken out against the Trump rally speaker’s racist joke, telling Variety she “strongly disagreed with any comments that were made recently.”

“I definitely want to stand by my people,” she added.

Read more | HT in US: Special Coverage of the American elections by Prashant Jha

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Title:Trump's celeb hate game: Beyonce booed at Green Bay rally as Latino stars like Selena Gomez hit back at Puerto Rico joke

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