TMZ became the main character of Thursday afternoon after reporting that Beyoncé would appear as a special guest at the 2024 DNC. Then the outlet became the main character after their insisted-upon scoop turned out to be false and the outlet was soon roasted by pretty much everyone. As writer Ben Simeon put it on X, “This is a total failure of American intelligence.”
Eventually, TMZ owned up to the egregious and embarrassing error.
But nevertheless they were clowned widely.
The lack of a performance was met with immediate skepticism and frustration on social media — as well as with humor. X user @earlsofrisk joked, “Do you guys think there is someone at the DNC who made a joke about a surprise guest to a reporter today and has now sweated through like 7 shirts.”
One man tweeting under the name @PrinceHAK33M added, “TMZ source running off into the night after getting paid for false Beyonce info.”
Writer Ben Siemon asked, “Has TMZ ever been this wrong before? This is a total failure of American intelligence. A special counsel needs to be assigned.”
As Michael Collado put it, “What kind of a society are we living in if we can no longer trust the journalistic integrity of TMZ?”
“What A Day” podcast host Akilah Hughes added, “Disband TMZ I want to speak at the congressional hearing.”
Yahoo! social media assignment editor Angel Mendoza lamented, “TMZ just committed an impeachable offense toward millions of prepped canva drafts.”
Rumors that the Houston, Texas, native would make an appearance during the fourth and final night of the convention kicked off mid-afternoon Thursday. Many also speculated that the surprise guest could be Taylor Swift, Sen. Mitt Romney, or even former President George W. Bush.
X commenter Angry Staffer was one of the earliest to imply a major guest would attend the DNC. They wrote on the platform, “I’ve been sworn to secrecy, but you don’t want to miss the DNC tonight. If you thought the Oprah surprise was big, just wait.”
After the conclusion of the convention, Angry Staff sent out another message on X. “Re: special guest rumor – I’m not sure where it started, but the people who told me aren’t prone to hyperbole. FWIW, Beyoncé was the rumor. Makes me feel a little better that Rueters, TMZ, The Hill, and other outlets also reported it, but either way – I apologize. I don’t like giving bad information, and that’s on me. Mea culpa. Even people at the DNC were hearing that Beyoncé was in the building, so whoever started the rumor got a whole bunch of us. Maybe it was a ratings ploy by the DNC, but I don’t think so – they had a hell of a lineup either way, and it was a fantastic performance.”
MSNBC’s Katie Phang added, “FWIW: folks within the DNC were told that she was in the building so trust me it wasn’t just a random thing.”
Representatives for Beyoncé issued a statement via the Hollywood Reporter that denied the singer was scheduled to make an appearance at the DNC. “Beyoncé was never scheduled to be there. The report of a performance is untrue.”
The final night of the DNC included cameos from Kerry Washington and Tony Goldwyn, the Chicks, P!nk, and more. Former Sen. Gabby Giffords and her husband, Sen. Mike Kelly also delivered speeches.
Washington and Goldwyn led the crowd in a chant in support of Harris. Washington told the audience she needed a phone and asked if anyone had one, when lo and behold, her former co-star showed up onstage and offered his. The pair then instructed the crowd to join them in a chant: “When I say ‘When we fight,’ you say, ‘We fight!’”
Washington was then joined by Vice President Harris’ great-nieces, Amara and Leela, who helped anyone still confused by how to pronounce their aunt’s name master it once and for all. “First you say, ‘Kama’ like a common sentence,” Amara explained. “Then you say, ‘La’ like, ‘La la la la la,’” Leela added.
The convention has also featured performances and appearances by Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, John Legend, and more.
