The star-studded event in mid-June, which brought together George Clooney, Barbra Streisand and Julia Roberts, raised $30 million for Joe Biden's re-election, a testament to Hollywood's support for the president.
The fundraiser, in downtown Los Angeles, was also a showcase for Biden's top fundraiser, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Oscar-winning movie mogul behind THE Lion King, who launched the DreamWorks studio alongside Steven Spielberg and David Geffen.
Now, after Biden's disastrous debate performance, Katzenberg faces criticism from his Hollywood peers, including accusations that he downplayed the president's declining health.
[Katzenberg] “He’s fine, I was just with him,” said a Hollywood veteran and longtime Democratic donor. He had this famous quote for everyone, which was, “I’m happy to put you in a room with him and you’ll see for yourself.” But no one did.
Hollywood and entertainment industry executives have said they believe donations to Biden's campaign will slow after his performance in last week's debate with Donald Trump, which sparked panic among Democrats and calls for the president to step aside in favor of a younger candidate.
This week, Democratic lawmakers began publicly warning that Biden would lose to Trump if he remained in the race and urged him to withdraw.
I don’t think anyone buys the bad night excuse. The debate was a turning point, said one entertainment executive who donated to the Biden campaign. Expect that [Katzenberg] I get hundreds of phone calls telling me I won't do this anymore.
A representative for Katzenberg did not respond to requests for comment.
A disciplined leader known for scheduling three breakfast meetings in a single morning, Katzenberg raised eyebrows the day after the debate when he canceled a meeting with a Biden campaign advisory board that coordinates celebrity appearances, a person familiar with the matter said. Campaign staffers were reeling from Biden’s performance, the person said.
Katzenberg, 73, has a long history in politics, beginning when he was a teenage volunteer for New York Mayor John Lindsay, a Republican, in the 1960s. He supported Barack Obama against Hillary Clinton in the 2008 Democratic primary and raised millions for Obama's re-election in 2012 through lavish fundraisers.
But he has played a much more active role in Biden's campaign, which he co-chairs. He occasionally travels with Biden and helped him prepare for his well-received State of the Union address in March.
The movie mogul is a top Biden donor. Since April 2023, he and his wife Marilyn have given to Biden's campaign and a pro-Biden super PAC more than $3.8 million.
In an interview with the Financial Times last year, Katzenberg dismissed the notion that Biden, now 81, was too old to run for office. The president has shown that he is 80 and brings with him the wisdom, knowledge and experience he has demonstrated over the last two years, he said at the time. He is fit, engaged and has a high energy level.
In other interviews, he has said that Biden's age is actually a superpower and the source of his wisdom. It will now be harder to make that argument to donors.
Katzenberg faces pressure from Democrats in Hollywood and beyond, but he has shown a knack for adapting to adversity. In the early 1990s, he revitalized Disney's flagging animation business with The Lion King and other successes, earning the respect of Wall Street. But he crossed swords with then-CEO Michael Eisner, who fired him, leading to an epic lawsuit that cost Disney nearly $270 million.
He then launched DreamWorks with Spielberg and Geffen, and built a powerhouse with DreamWorks Animation after it was spun off. He sold it in 2016 for $3.8 billion. Katzenberg’s most high-profile venture was Quibi, a short-form video mobile app that shuttered after a $1.75 billion investment, a rare failure in his career.
Some sympathize with Katzenberg’s position, noting that he signed on to Biden’s campaign more than a year ago, when signs of the president’s advancing age were not yet as visible. You’re sitting here in the spring and you [realise] “He's lost a little bit of a step,” the entertainment director said. “But in all honesty, what are we going to do? He's someone who's not at his best against a crazy guy.”
Another Los Angeles-based Democratic donor said his party colleagues need to abandon the idea of Biden dropping out of the race. “It’s just not in his DNA,” he said. “The sooner people realize that, the better. We just have to survive this week and move on, and I’m sure we will.”
Deep-pocketed Hollywood donors are now wondering how to proceed after throwing their support and money at Biden. “I’m not angry,” the entertainment executive said. “I’m sad.”
