Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the presidential nomination on the final night of the Democratic National Convention on Thursday (August 22), but the evening was overshadowed by rumors of a Beyoncé appearance that never materialized.
On Thursday’s edition of The Daily Show, which aired live from the DNC, host Jon Stewart addressed the out-of-control rumors and the awkwardness that emerged from Queen Bey’s absence.
“The anticipation was high tonight, and not just for Kamala Harris. Speculation was running wild today that there would be a surprise guest. Boy, did they deliver,” Stewart said before throwing to a clip of Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin arriving on stage.
“I am in the Slot’ Hive,” Stewart quipped. “You thought it was Beyoncé because everyone thought that it was gonna be Beyoncé coming out there. But it was Slotkin all along. Everybody knew.”
When Stewart moved on to talk about Harris, the audience cheered. “She’s not here either,” he told the crowd. “No Beyoncé, no Kamala.”
After the audience groaned, Stewart joked, “Hey, tickets are free motherf******.”
Rumors ran rampant on Thursday after reports emerged of a special guest who would be appearing at Night 4 of the DNC. Fans took to social media to share their predictions, with Beyoncé and Taylor Swift being the leading candidates. Anticipation only increased after TMZ reported that Beyoncé would be making an appearance at the convention.
However, as the event rolled on with no Beyoncé in sight, viewers began to realize they’d been misled. The Hollywood Reporter later published a quote from the “Freedom” singer’s rep, saying she “was never scheduled to be there” and that the “report of a performance is untrue.”
TMZ later admitted its mistake, writing, “To quote the great Beyonce: We gotta lay our cards down, down, down … we got this one wrong.”
Instead, the night’s special guest turned out to be Pink, who took to the stage with her 13-year-old daughter, Willow, to perform a heartfelt acoustic rendition of her song “What About Us.”
As for Swift, a DNC insider told Deadline, “Everybody loves Taylor, but having her here would overshadow everything. Think about it, no one would remember a word the Vice President said in her acceptance speech. All the headlines would be about Swift.”
The Daily Show, Weeknights, 11/10c, Comedy Central
