For reasons yet to be explained, a super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s presidential campaign falsely advertised a forthcoming fundraiser featuring a performance from famed Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and several other celebrity guests.
At the end of December, the Daily Mail reported — citing unspecified “organizers” — that Kennedy’s campaign would throw a “multi-million dollar” fundraiser later this month for the anti-vax candidate in Indian Wells, a resort town in the California desert. Supposedly, this event would also double as a birthday party for the independent candidate, who turns 70 on Jan. 17. The article related that Bocelli would lend his voice for the evening, presumably to encourage guests to get out their checkbooks as they did when Covid-19 conspiracy theorist Eric Clapton played at a Brentwood, California, fundraiser for Kennedy in September, donating $2.2 million. Also slated to attend as “well-wishers,” the Mail claimed, were singer Dionne Warwick, actor Martin Sheen, and former boxing heavyweight champion Mike Tyson.
The same day the Mail piece ran, Kennedy’s campaign staff seemed to confirm the details by sharing it on his website. The star-studded lineup was also touted by American Values 24, a pro-Kennedy super PAC, on X (formerly Twitter). But that post attracted the notice of Warwick, who on Wednesday refuted the notion that she would be taking part in the fundraiser. “I don’t know anything about this event,” she wrote. “I did not agree to it and I certainly won’t be there.” In a followup tweet, she shared an image of the inaccurate Mail headline bearing her name and joked, “This is absolutely ridiculous. If you are going to lie on my name, at least lie about something cool. ‘Revealed: Dionne collaborates with Rihanna on new album…’”
On Thursday, Sheen followed suit, clarifying in an Instagram Story that he wouldn’t be at the party and wasn’t endorsing Kennedy at all. A second Story following that one read, “I whole heartedly support @joebiden and the Democratic ticket for 2024.” The posts have been pinned to his Instagram profile in the “Highlights” section.
Finally, a rep for Bocelli confirmed in an email to Rolling Stone that any reports of him performing at a Kennedy event were incorrect, and said that he will not even be in the U.S. this month. Representatives for Tyson did not immediately return a request for comment.
A member of Kennedy’s press team, in an email to Rolling Stone, wrote that the “Indian Wells fundraiser is a PAC event,” apparently referring to American Values 24, and therefore the campaign “doesn’t have anything to do” with organizing it. “The campaign has no knowledge of who is attending and can’t confirm or deny anyone’s participation, either as entertainment or as a guest,” the statement concluded. A question about why the campaign had advertised the attendance of Bocelli, Warwick, and Sheen on its own website went unanswered. American Values 24 did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At any rate, Kennedy voters who do show up at Indian Wells should be prepared for a gala without these particular talents in the mix. Still, for those hoping to spot a celebrity, actress Cheryl Hines — Kennedy’s wife — is more than likely to be on the guest list.
