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Hollywood Reacts to Joe Biden Exiting the Presidential Race

Cher. (AP)
Cher. (AP)
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Hollywood Reacts to Joe Biden Exiting the Presidential Race

Cher. (AP)
Cher. (AP)

Hollywood was quick to react to the news that President Joe Biden was ending his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Barbra Streisand, a Democratic supporter, wrote Sunday on X that “we should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy.” While many paid tribute to Biden’s presidency, others wondered about the future.

Cher wrote on X that she was “tortured” because she doesn’t believe the Democrats could win without Biden. She said it was time to think “way outside the box” and proposed a split ticket.

In recent weeks, several high-profile Hollywood names had begun calling for Biden to exit the race. Just weeks after headlining a record-breaking fundraiser for the president's reelection campaign, George Clooney wrote a New York Times opinion piece calling for Biden to end his bid.

Clooney argued that the party should pick a new nominee, saying the process would be “messy” but “wake up” voters in the party’s favor.

Others who attended or participated in the starry fundraiser in Los Angeles included Julia Roberts, Streisand, Jimmy Kimmel, former President Barack Obama, Jack Black, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman.

Ralph, on Sunday, posted a photo of herself and Harris writing “President Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris!”

Here are some notable celebrity reactions:

Barbra Streisand

“Joe Biden will go down in history as a man who accomplished significant achievements in his 4-year term. We should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy.”

Cher

“In my heart im tortured, Because I Don’t believe the Democrats Can win the Presidency with Pres Biden. ‘Joe’ whom I’ve Loved since we met in 2008. I Campaigned for him I believe ITS TIME 2 PASS THE BATON. TIME 4 DEMS 2 THINK “WAY” OUTSIDE THE BOX. MAYBE EVEN A SPLIT TICKET.”

Mark Hamill

“@JoeBiden has a record of accomplishments unmatched by any president in our lifetime. He restored honesty, dignity & integrity to the office after 4 years of lies, crime, scandal & chaos. Thank you for your service, Mr. President. It’s now our duty as patriotic Americans to elect the Democrat who will honor & further your legacy.”

George Takei

“I want to honor our President @JoeBiden. He has served our nation admirably for decades, he is a decent honorable man, a hugely successful president, and a patriot. Now let us unite behind @KamalaHarris and defeat Donald Trump in November!”

Russell Brand

“Joe Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination after ending re-election bid. We’re in a wild world, mate.”

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Entertainment

Netflix Beats Subscriber Targets, Cautions on Ad Growth

FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is seen on their office in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is seen on their office in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
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Netflix Beats Subscriber Targets, Cautions on Ad Growth

FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is seen on their office in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: The Netflix logo is seen on their office in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US July 16, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

Netflix said on Thursday it added more than 8 million subscribers in its second quarter as the streaming service benefited from a password-sharing crackdown and the popularity of such titles as "Bridgerton," "Baby Reindeer" and "The Roast of Tom Brady."
While the subscriber gains topped analyst predictions of 5 million, Netflix issued cautious guidance for the third quarter and said its advertising business would not become a primary driver of revenue growth until at least 2026, said Reuters.
Netflix shares reversed initial losses after it reported results to trade up 1% in after-hours trading. The stock has surged nearly a third so far this year.
"Netflix is still the best and most profitable streaming company out there, but with technology stocks generally retreating over the last several days, some investors may sell on the generally good news and taking profits now while waiting for a possible better re-entry point for the stock," said Michael Ashley Schulman, chief investment officer at Running Point Capital.
The streaming video pioneer is facing saturation in the United States and plans to stop regularly reporting new subscriber additions next year. Investors have been zeroing in on the company's relatively new advertising business as a potential source of growth.
On Thursday, Netflix said third-quarter subscriber gains would be lower than the comparable period in 2023 when it had just started the password clamp-down.
The company also said its vice president of ad sales, Peter Naylor, was departing.
Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley said Netflix's advertising business "has yet to prove itself from a revenue standpoint."
"Our experts highlight that Amazon has made a much bigger splash in the ad market and Netflix needs to continue working on scale in this segment if it wants to be a major player," Lumley said.
For April through June, Netflix posted diluted per-share earnings of $4.88, compared with consensus forecasts of $4.74 a share, according to LSEG. Revenue for the quarter reached $9.56 billion, in line with estimates.
At the end of June, the new sign-ups brought the total number of global Netflix subscribers to more than 277 million.
Netflix said its ad tier membership grew 34% from the prior quarter, but it did not say how many subscribers chose that option.
"Our ad business is growing nicely and is becoming a more meaningful contributor to our business," Netflix said in a letter to investors. "But building a business from scratch takes time - and coupled with the large size of our subscription revenue - we don't expect advertising to be a primary driver of our revenue growth in 2024 or 2025."
On a post-earnings video, Netflix Chief Financial Officer Spencer Neumann said the company's advertising business is "growing nicely," but it is building off a small base.
"It's a meaningful contributor," Neumann said. "And then we get (to) '26 and beyond, it can be even more meaningful, and hopefully comes to the point where it's a primary contributor."
The company said it expects third-quarter revenue growth of 14% compared with a year ago.
Three years into its videogame initiative, Netflix said it planned to release a multiplayer game based on "Squid Game" later this year when it debuts Season Two of the dystopian Korean series. It also plans games tied to "Emily in Paris" and "Selling Sunset."