Zach Galifianakis warns Kamala Harris celebrity endorsements could backfire

Zach Galifianakis has cautioned the Kamala Harris - Tim Walz presidential campaign against relying too heavily on Hollywood endorsements, saying: “I do wish the DNC would step back from the celebrities a little bit.”

The Hangover star, 54, is set to join the new series of the mystery comedy Only Murders In The Building.

Speaking to Variety at a premiere event that took place during the last night of this year’s Democratic National Convention , Galifianakis said: “As a small-town guy from North Carolina … I do wish the DNC would step back from the celebrities a little bit.

“It works to a point, but they have to win over rural America. Hollywood thinks it’s so important and that’s a problem.

“Actors are people too, and they’re citizens too, but I’m more on the small-town side of that than I am on the Hollywood side of that. That’s just me.”

The Democratic National Convention in Chicago featured a host of big-name guest appearances, including a speech by Oprah Winfrey and musical performances by Stevie Wonder, John Legend and Pink.

Rumours on social media had even suggested that Beyoncé might turn up.

Droves of Beyoncé-supporting delegates and other attendees were somewhat disheartened when she failed to appear, after some had even shown up in stetsons and red-white-and-blue sashes in an apparent nod to the star’s recent album Cowboy Carter .

While Beyoncé has not publicly endorsed Harris for 2024, she indicated her support for the vice president by granting her rights to use Freedom as the official anthem of the Harris campaign almost as soon as it launched.

When Trump’s campaign used the song without permission during a video of the former president stepping off a plane in Michigan this week, the singer sent him a cease-and-desist letter. The post featuring the video on X was quickly deleted.

Beyoncé, who voted for President Joe Biden during the 2020 election, also gave Harris and husband Doug Emhoff tickets worth approximately $1,655 to her Renaissance Tour in 2023.

On Thursday, TMZ reported – citing multiple sources – that the artist would give a surprise performance on Harris’s big night.

However the publication ended up having to walk back its scoop.

In a post on X, along with amending their original piece, the outlet wrote: “To quote the great Beyonce: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down … we got this one wrong.”