PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Beyoncé is planning to visit her hometown of Houston on Friday and attend a rally with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, according to three people familiar with the matter.
Harris' presidential campaign has adopted Beyoncé's 2016 song "Freedom" as its anthem, and the planned appearance of the singer adds a high level of star power to what has become a key theme of the Democratic candidacy: freedom.
Harris will visit the strongly Republican state just 10 days before the elections in an effort to redirect her campaign against former President Donald Trump to reproductive rights, which Democrats see as a crucial issue in this election year.
The three individuals familiar with the matter were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Harris' campaign team did not immediately comment on the matter.
It is expected that Beyoncé's participation in the event will draw even more attention to it—and to Harris's closing message.
Harris' trip to Houston will include women who have been affected by Texas' restrictive abortion laws, which went into effect after the federal Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision in 2022. She has campaigned in other states with restrictive abortion laws, such as Georgia, which are among the seven most contested entities.
Harris has focused her campaign around the idea that Trump represents a threat to the freedoms of Americans, from reproductive rights and the LGBTQ+ community to the freedom to be safe from gun violence.
At the beginning of Harris' campaign, Beyoncé authorized the use of "Freedom," an emotional song from her iconic 2016 album "Lemonade," in her debut ad. Since then, Harris has used it to close her rallies.
Beyoncé's alliance with Harris is not the first time a Grammy winner has teamed up with a Democratic politician. Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, danced while Beyoncé sang at a presidential inaugural ball in 2009.