There was hope for Beyoncé, but all the crowd and viewers for the Democratic National Convention got was befuddled.
There was plenty of hype (and even some unconfirmed reports) that the pop megastar could make an appearance at the final night of the DNC in Chicago Thursday night, as many fans hoped for a performance before Vice President Kamala Harris accepted the nomination for president.
However, the closest they would get is hearing a Beyoncé song play after Harris became the first woman of color to accept a major party’s nomination.
Harris took the stage around 10:30 p.m. and spoke for about 40 minutes. Just as she did earlier in the week, Harris took the stage with Beyoncé’s song “Freedom” playing, which played again after she finished her address. But there would be no live performance by the singer.
Multiple reports indicated that megastar Beyoncé was headed to Chicago to perform at the United Center. According to MSNBC’s Katie Phang, the singer arrived at the United Center during the second hour of the convention’s final night, and TMZ had reported earlier in the evening that the singer had been expected to perform at the convention.
However, the Washington Post later reported that there were no plans for a “surprise performance,” and The Hollywood Reporter quoted a representative of the singer who said she “was never scheduled to be there.”
Speculation had run rampant throughout the day about potential surprise guests during the final night of the convention, with White House Policy Director Emmy Ruiz tweeting a bee emoji, which many read as a winking nod to the “Beyhive,” Beyoncé’s fans.
