Celebrities are weighing in on this deeply bizarre debate.
Since early September, the Donald Trump campaign has been pushing a widely debunked online rumor about immigrants eating cats and dogs in Springfield, Ohio. Then, during the Sept. 10 debate, the former president amplified it, sparking widespread criticism from everyone from the Miami Heat to celebrities like John Legend and Bette Midler.
For some, these remarks were more personal than others — Haitian actress Garcelle Beauvais called them “disgusting, deeply hurtful and dangerous” for her community. Yet, despite these concerns, the GOP ticket has double downed on the conspiracy: During an interview over the weekend, Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance told Meet the Press that he didn’t come up with it “out of thin air,” maintaining that “constituents are seeing it with their own eyes.” (Though in an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union, Vance also seemingly admitted to having “created” the story, citing his need “to create stories so that the … media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people.”)
As some Republicans push this baseless claim, here are stars who’ve spoken out — and had the internet buzzing.
John Legend
Now a critically acclaimed singer-songwriter, John Legend remains proud of his early beginnings in Springfield, Ohio, and he’s not going to let anyone badmouth it.
Following Trump’s pet-eating comments during the debate, Legend posted a video addressing the rumors about the city. First, he pointed to his hometown’s history and how it had been “shrinking for decades” before more manufacturing jobs opened up during the Biden administration. Then, right around the same time, he noted that federal officials began expanding an immigration program to help Haitians fleeing violence at home. He estimated that “15,000 or so” immigrants poured in, which he acknowledged led to some “growing pains.”
However, Legend emphasized the importance of embracing immigrants from all different backgrounds and addressed the rumors that have been spreading about the Haitian community.
“Nobody’s eating cats. Nobody’s eating dogs,” he says. “We all just want to live and flourish and raise our families in a healthy and safe environment. How about we love one another?”
Bette Midler
Like many viewers, actress Bette Midler was taken aback when Trump suddenly pivoted during the debate from Vice President Kamala Harris’s dig about his rallies to his unfounded accusation about Haitian immigrants.
“‘People don’t leave my rallies.’ Hahahahahaha,” she wrote on X. “Now he’s spreading that lie about eating cats,” while noting debate moderator David Muir had debunked Trump’s statement.
It’s no secret that Midler has been a long-time critic of Trump. Several of her social media posts bashing the former president have gone viral, and the two have traded barbs over the years. In 2019, they became embroiled in an online feud after the singer mistakenly shared a quote falsely attributed to him, and he responded by calling her a “washed-up psycho.”
Francis Ford Coppola
Legendary film director Francis Ford Coppola said he was “infuriated” by Trump’s rhetoric. In an Instagram post on Sept. 13, he dismissed Trump’s claims alongside a still from the 2021 film Freda by Gessica Généus, which follows a young college student trying to decide whether to stay in Haiti as it becomes increasingly torn by violence.
“I feel Haitian people are among the most kind, generous, talented, wonderful I have ever known,” he wrote. “They have never been forgiven for winning what was a slave-revolt, and have been punished ever since they liberated themselves.”
“The remarks that ‘they eat the pets of people’ is so outrageously insulting to a brave, creative, and absolutely wonderful people, I cannot tolerate or remain silent,” he continued.
Garcelle Beauvais
Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Garcelle Beauvais condemned the claims popularized by the Republican ticket, saying, “this madness has got to stop.”
“Staying silent in the face of racism and hate is something that I refuse to do,” said the actress, who also happens to be Haitian. “This past week, the lies that have been spewed about the Haitian community — about my community — have been disgusting, deeply hurtful, and dangerous.”
“This is not about politics,” she continued. “It’s about humanity. We must condemn this kind of hatred, this kind of racism for anyone. I have always been a proud Haitian immigrant. Coming to America, working hard, that’s what we do, coming from gratitude. And I will not sit by and let people talk about my community in any way they want for their own gain.”
Beauvais opened up about growing up in Saint-Marc, Haiti in her 2022 memoir, Love Me As I Am: My Journey from Haiti to Hollywood to Happiness. There, she detailed what it was like to leave her home country with her family when she was seven and move to Massachusetts.
Flavor Flav
Flavor Flav quipped that fellow artists with dog-themed names should tread carefully in light of Trump’s debate comments.
“Pet Shop Boys better stay inside and lock the doors,” the 64-year-old rapper tweeted. “You too, Snoop Dogg. And Pitbull.”
His remarks strike a (sorry) chord — the former president has previously feuded with rappers, like Snoop Dog, although the two appear to have squashed that beef. But Flavor Flav’s comments do highlight the absurdity of these claims.
