Lil Jon energized the Democratic National Convention with a performance that had the entire crowd on their feet. The 53-year-old brought his signature energy to support Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, performing some of his biggest hits, including “Turn Down For What” and “Get Low.”
He kicked off his upbeat performance with his famous catchphrase, “Yeahhh!” and amped up the crowd, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, we are here tonight to officially nominate Kamala Harris for President.” The audience enthusiastically joined in on his chant, “We’re not going back … VP Harris!”
Jonathan H. Smith, better known as Lil Jon, was previously a contestant on Celebrity Apprentice, hosted by former President Donald Trump. During his time on the show, Trump made a controversial remark, referring to Lil Jon as “Uncle Tom.” In a tweet posted on X (formerly Twitter) in 2016, Lil Jon addressed the incident, stating, “When this ‘Uncle Tom’ incident happened on *Celebrity Apprentice* in the boardroom, several of my castmates and I immediately confronted Mr. Trump about it.”
He added, “I can’t say if he fully understood the meaning of what he was saying, but he did stop using the term once we explained its offensiveness. I also want to be clear that I don’t agree with many of the statements Mr. Trump has made during his current run for president.”
Despite this past experience, Lil Jon shared in a post-performance interview with Don Lemon at the DNC, “People are tired of bad energy, tired of negativity, tired of fighting. People want hope, positivity, and the ability to depend on their neighbors again. That’s what Kamala is bringing — good energy … We need a little more hope and positivity.”
According to recent reports, John Legend will take the DNC stage on Wednesday, August 21, and Pink will perform on the final day to support Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Walz as they face off against Republican candidates Donald and his campaign partner, J.D. Vance, in the upcoming presidential election in November.