President Donald Trump took to social media on July 26, 2025, to assert that he thinks Beyoncé should be “prosecuted.” In his rant, Trump promoted baseless claims about Beyoncé’s appearance at a rally for former Vice President Kamala Harris in October 2024. He alleged that “the Democrats” paid Beyoncé millions of dollars to endorse Harris, and added that it was “probably” illegal.
But there is no evidence that suggests Beyoncé was paid for her appearance at the rally or for endorsing Harris. “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, Eleven Million Dollars to singer Beyoncé for an ENDORSEMENT (she never sang, not one note, and left the stage to a booing and angry audience!),” Trump claimed on Truth Social.
In reality, a spokesperson for Harris campaign previously explained to Deadline that the campaign did not pay for any performers. However, campaign finance law required the campaign to cover performance costs. Per CNN, the Harris campaign paid Beyoncé’s production company $165,000 — not $11 million. The $165,000 was listed as a “campaign event production” cost.
In his Truth Social rant, Trump claimed that Harris and the celebrities who endorsed her did something “totally illegal.”
“YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO PAY FOR AN ENDORSEMENT. IT IS TOTALLY ILLEGAL TO DO SO,” he wrote. “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.”
The rumors that Harris paid Beyoncé for the endorsement began circulating in 2024. According to CNN, “there is simply no basis” for the claims. Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles, addressed the rumors on Instagram in November 2024. Referring to the rumors that Beyoncé was paid millions to endorse Harris as “false Information,” Tina Knowles wrote that her daughter “did not receive a penny for speaking at a Presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’s Rally in Houston.”
She added that Beyoncé also paid for her own flights. “They are not only lying and disrespecting Beyonce’s name, but they are trying to further discredit the power of our vice president!” Tina Knowles noted at the time. “When does the lies and rumors stop?”
