Beyoncé made an appearance tonight at Vice President Kamala Harris’ Rally on Reproductive Rights, which took place in the musician’s hometown of Houston, Texas. Introduced by her mother, Tina Knowles, Beyoncé appeared onstage alongside her former Destiny’s Child bandmate Kelly Rowland to introduce the Democratic presidential nominee.
“H-Town,” the singer began, “we are so happy to be standing on this stage as proud, country, Texas women.” She continued: “I’m not here as a celebrity; I’m not here as a politician; I’m here as a mother. 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: our past, our present, our future merge to meet us here.” Watch Beyoncé’s full speech below.
In response to Texas’ near-complete ban on abortion access, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, Harris’ Houston campaign event focused on abortion rights. Willie Nelson, who appeared as a guest on this year’s Cowboy Carter, also played a brief set. Harris and her team have drawn big names at other campaign events: R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, Bruce Springsteen, and Eminem among them, although it was former President Barack Obama who ended up rapping the first verse of “Lose Yourself” at a Detroit rally earlier this week.
Beyoncé has granted permission for Harris to play “Freedom,” from her 2016 album Lemonade, at campaign events. When former President Donald J. Trump used the song in a social media clip this past August, however, Beyoncé’s team threatened to hit his campaign with an official cease-and-desist order. Beyoncé has previously declared support for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama during their presidential candidacies.
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