Beyoncé approves use of her song "Freedom" for Kamala Harris' campaign

A source told CNN that the star OK'd use of the track mere hours before Harris walked out to it at her campaign HQ

Published July 23, 2024 2:40PM (EDT)

Beyoncé performs onstage during the "RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR" at MetLife Stadium on July 29, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood/Getty Images)
Beyoncé performs onstage during the "RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR" at MetLife Stadium on July 29, 2023 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Kevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood/Getty Images)

Beyoncé has given Kamala Harris permission to use her song "Freedom" as part of the Vice President's presidential campaign, per what a source close to Harris told CNN.

On Monday night, Harris, who is the presumptive Democratic nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, walked out to "Freedom" during her first official visit to her campaign headquarters in Delaware. CNN's source noted that Beyoncé gave swift approval to Harris' campaign — which reportedly requested the usage mere hours before the Vice President's inaugural speech as a candidate — a noteworthy move given that the singer-songwriter is notoriously stringent about sharing her music. 

On Sunday, Beyoncé's mother Tina Knowles took to her Instagram to endorse Harris for president, not long after Biden announced that he would be bowing out. “New, Youthful, Sharp . . . energy !!!!” Knowles wrote alongside a photo of herself next to Harris. “Putting personal Ego, power and fame aside. That is the definition of a great leader. Thank you, President Biden for your service and your leadership . Go Vice President Kamala Harris for President. Let’s Go."

While Beyoncé has not formally endorsed Harris, her history of supporting Democratic candidates — and her fast-acting approval for "Freedom" — indicates that the star likely will be voting blue this November. In 2013, she sang the National Anthem at former president Barack Obama's inauguration. In 2016,  Beyoncé and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, performed at a pre-election concert for Hillary Clinton in Cleveland, Ohio. 

“I want my daughter to grow up seeing a woman lead our country and knowing that her possibilities are limitless,” Beyoncé said at the time, according to CNN. “And that’s why I am with her [Clinton].”