Beyoncé gives Kamala Harris ‘Freedom’ song for campaign
Kamala Harris visited presidential campaign headquarters at the start of this week and she exited the event to the sound of a Beyoncé song, ‘Freedom’.
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- Former President Trump accused Beyoncé of accepting $11 million to endorse Kamala Harris during the 2024 presidential race.
- This claim is unsubstantiated, with no evidence from the Federal Election Commission or other sources.
- Beyoncé publicly endorsed Harris at a rally and allowed her campaign to use the song “Freedom,” but her mother denied any payment for the endorsement.
- Harris’ campaign did pay Beyoncé’s company $165,000 for event production.
President Donald Trump has accused former Vice President Kamala Harris of paying Beyoncé Knowles-Carter $11 million for an “illegal” endorsement during the 2024 presidential race.
In a fiery rant posted May 19 on Truth Social, Trump said he plans to call for a “major investigation” into Harris’ celebrity endorsements, including by Bruce Springsteen, Oprah Winfrey and Beyoncé. He alleged Beyoncé received $11 million to walk on stage and show her support during a Harris’ rally in Houston.
The president did not cite a source for this information. The Federal Election Commission has no record of an $11 million payment to Beyoncé from Harris’ campaign.
Here’s what to know about Beyoncé’s endorsement of Harris.
Beyoncé showed support for Harris throughout presidential campaign
In October 2024, Beyoncé showed up to declare her support and officially endorse Harris at a rally focused on abortion rights in Beyoncé’s hometown of Houston. She was joined by her longtime friend the singer and actress Kelly Rowland on the stage.
During the rally, Beyoncé addressed the crowd.
“I’m not here as a celebrity. I’m not here as a politician. I’m here as a mother,” she said. “Your freedom is your God-given right, your human right.”
Months prior, Beyoncé and her family showed their support for the presidential nominee in other ways. Shortly after President Joe Biden ended his bid for reelection, Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, quickly endorsed Harris for president.
Beyoncé also cleared the usage of her 2016 song “Freedom” for Harris, and the tune became the former vice president’s official campaign song throughout her bid for president.
The summer prior, Harris attended Beyoncé’s “Renaissance” concert just outside of Washington after the superstar gifted her tickets.
Did Beyoncé receive $11 million from Harris’ campaign?
No evidence has surfaced of the $11 million payment, and it’s unclear where Trump got this figure. The Federal Election Commission did show that Harris’ campaign made a $165,000 payment for “campaign event production” to Parkwood Production Media — Beyoncé’s entertainment company — weeks after the rally.
The campaign also paid $1 million to Harpo Productions, the company Winfrey owns, after she hosted a star-studded town hall event for Harris.
“I did not take any personal fee,” Winfrey said in an Instagram video. “However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.”
Tina Knowles has denied Beyoncé was paid to endorse Harris
Back in November 2024, Knowles posted on Instagram to shut down claims the singer was paid millions to endorse Harris. In a lengthy Instagram post she wrote:
“The lie is that Beyonce was paid 10 million dollars to speak at a rally in Houston for Vice President Kamala Harris. When In Fact: Beyonce did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harrris’ Rally in Houston. In fact, she actually paid for her own flights for her and her team, and total Glam. They are not only lying and disrespecting Beyonce’s name but they are trying to further discredit the power of our vice president!”
Trump claims Beyoncé walked off to ‘loud booing’ at the rally, but that’s not true
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote, “According to news reports, Beyoncé was paid $11,000,000 to walk onto a stage, quickly ENDORSE KAMALA, and walk off to loud booing for never having performed, NOT EVEN ONE SONG.”
However, the singer was not booed at the rally.
Beyoncé is currently in the middle of her Cowboy Carter and Rodeo Chitlin’ Circuit Tour, a spectacle filled with fashion, different music genres and most notably country music and political commentary. The song “Freedom” is among the songs on the massive set list.
The nine-city tour will span the U.S. and Europe with the grand finale taking place in Las Vegas on July 26.
Follow Caché McClay, the USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, on Instagram, TikTok and X as @cachemcclay.
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