Celebs raise $7M for Biden-Harris campaign after convention

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Byron Allen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and George Clooney co-hosted a virtual fundraiser Friday (Aug. 21) for Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, raising $7 million from about 25 Hollywood Democratic donors.

The intimate virtual event was organized by consulting firm GLS, and featured appearances from Biden, running mate Kamala Harris, and their spouses.

Allen and his wife Jennifer Lucas co-hosted the event with Katzenberg and his wife Marilyn, Mayor Eric Garcetti, Ellen Bronfman Hauptman and Andrew Hauptman, and Clooney and his wife Amal, Deadline reports.

In a statement, Quibi founder Katzenberg said, “We are in the home stretch now. There is no question this is the most consequential election of our lifetime.”

Allen, the founder and CEO of Entertainment Studios and Allen Media Group, said, “This is an extremely important moment in our nation’s history. We must all lean in, and I strongly believe Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will give America the leadership and the must-needed change that we all deserve.”

Hauptman, chairman of Andell Inc., added, “Ellen and I are proud to lock arms with our co-hosts in support of the Biden-Harris campaign. The change coming in November can’t come fast enough.”

Biden and Harris previously announced at a grassroots fundraising event that his campaign had raised over $26 million in the first 24 hours after his running mate announcement. After 48 hours, a reported 48 million was raised.

Friday’s event was hosted the day after the former vice president accepted the Democratic nomination for President.

theGrio previously reported, in his strongest remarks of the campaign, Biden spoke both of returning the United States to its traditional leadership role in the world and of the deeply personal challenges that shaped his life. Virtually every sentence of his 22-minute speech was designed to present a sharp, yet hopeful, contrast with the Republican incumbent.

“Here and now I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst. l’ll be an ally of the light, not the darkness,” Biden said. “Make no mistake, united we can and will overcome this season of darkness in America.”

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