Donald Trump has bizarrely called for Beyonce to be prosecuted – over disputed claims regarding endorsements.
Months after he claimed victory in the 2024 election, the President is clearly still smarting over the string of names that stepped up to endorse Democratic candidate Kamala Harris.
In fact, months after theories arose on social media that Queen Bey was paid $10million for her appearance at a rally in Houston, the 79-year-old alleged that she broke the law by taking a multi-million-dollar pay cheque.
Taking to Truth Social over the weekend, he fumed: ‘I’m looking at the large amount of money owed by the Democrats after the presidential election and the fact that they admit to paying, probably illegally, $11million to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!).’
The former TV star also called out alleged endorsements to Oprah Winfrey and activist Al Sharpton ‘for doing absolutely nothing’.
‘These ridiculous fees were incorrectly stated in the books and records,’ he continued. ‘YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO.
‘Can you imagine what would happen if politicians started paying for people to endorse them. All hell would break out!
‘Kamala and all of those that received endorsement money BROKE THE LAW. They should all be prosecuted! Thank you for your attention to this matter.’
This isn’t the first time that Trump has mentioned the sum, but he did not shed further light on where the number came from.
In a radio interview with Mark Levin from February, he simply said: ‘Somebody just showed me something. They gave her $11million.’
However, CNN reports that there is nothing to suggest that the Texas Hold ‘Em singer has ever received a sum of $11m related to Harris’ campaign.
It is unclear how the figure was calculated, and the White House has not yet addressed the lack of proof behind Trump’s claims.
Beyonce sent fans into a spin when she appeared on stage at a campaign event in Houston shortly before the polls closed, alongside Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland.
‘I’m not here as a celebrity, I’m not here as a politician, I’m here as a mother,’ she told the crowd.
‘A mother who cares deeply about the world my children and all of our children live in, a world where we have the freedom to control our bodies, a world where we’re not divided.
‘Imagine our daughters growing up seeing what’s possible with no ceilings, no limitations. We must vote, and we need you.’
According to CNN, spending records for the campaign do show a payment of $165,000 to Beyonce’s production company, which was listed as a ‘campaign event production’ expense.
This comes after a spokesperson for the campaign previously told Deadline that they were required by law to cover costs related to a celebrity endorser’s appearance, but would not pay for the stars themselves.
Senior advisor and spokesperson Adrienne Elrod insisted: ‘We do not pay. We have never paid any artist and performer. We have never paid a fee to that person.
‘There are laws that have to be followed that we have followed religiously on this campaign.’
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Campaigns are required to cover ‘any ancillary costs’ for a celebrity appearance, which could range from travel expenses to staging, food and drink.
Although Bey has never addressed Trump’s claims directly, her spokesperson branded allegations that she was paid $10m for the appearance ‘beyond ridiculous’.
Tina Knowles was also unhappy about the speculation, and took to Instagram to share that a since-removed post regarding the claims had been ‘flagged as fake news’.
‘It’s called False Information,’ she wrote. ‘Sadly other platforms with a lack of integrity still have it up. 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’s 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! When does the lies and rumors stop? [sic].’
Oprah was also forced to deny that she was paid to support Harris after it was claimed that she was paid $1m – a fee that actually went to her Harpo production company.
In a comment under an Instagram post by the Shade Room, she said: ‘Usually I am reluctant to respond to rumors in general, but these days I realize that if you don’t stop a lie, it gets bigger. I was not paid a dime. My time and energy was my way of supporting the campaign.
‘For the live streaming event in September, my production company Harpo was asked to bring in set design, lights, cameras, crew, producers and every other item necessary (including the benches and the chairs we sat on) to put on a live production.
‘I did not take any personal fee. However, the people who worked on that production needed to be paid. And were. End of story.’
Metro has contacted reps for the White House and Beyonce for a comment.
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