Dionne Warwick has slammed an “absolutely ridiculous” headline that claimed she would be in attendance at a multi-million dollar fundraiser for US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.
“This is absolutely ridiculous,” the actor and singer, 83, tweeted alongside a screenshot of a Daily Mail article, which said that Warwick would be among the “well-wisher” guests, including Martin Sheen and Mike Tyson, at a forthcoming event for Kennedy Jr.
“If you’re going to lie on my name, at least lie about something cool,” she added, cheekily suggesting “Revealed: Dionne collaborates with Rihanna on new album” as an alternative.
According to the British tabloid, tenor Andrea Bocelli will be performing at the 22 January Indian Wells, California event, which is said to double as a 70th birthday for the 2024 independent candidate.
Warwick, the first cousin of the late Whitney Houston, confirmed in an earlier post that “I don’t know anything about this event. I did not agree to it and I certainly won’t be there”.
It is unknown whether the other celebrities named will actually be in attendance, or if the event is actually happening. The Daily Mail cited the event’s organisers as the source of the report.
The Independent has contacted Kennedy Jr’s campaign team for comment.
Kennedy Jr announced in October that he would be dropping his Democratic presidential bid and would be running as an independent candidate.
He had originally positioned himself to run against Joe Biden, but the Democratic National Committee is not holding debates and is fully supporting the president’s run for a second term in the Oval Office.
On Wednesday (3 January) it was reported that Kennedy Jr had garnered enough signatures to qualify for the Utah presidential ballot. This marks the first state that he has qualified after meeting the 1,000-signature threshold.
Kennedy Jr is the nephew of the late US President John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963.
The third-party candidate, however, is perhaps most known for his anti-vaccine stance – a position that he claims has been “constantly misrepresented”.
He originally made headlines for his anti-vaxx views during the Covid-19 pandemic, but later contested at a Congressional hearing that he is not, underscoring that he has taken every vaccine except for the Covid-19 shot.
While voters seem divided – FiveThirtyEight polls show Kennedy with 38.5 per cent favourable opinion and 33.6 per cent – his own family has warned against supporting him.
His sister Kerry Kennedy issued a statement in October, labelling his candidacy as “perilous to the country”. She wrote: “Bobby might share the same name as our father, but he does not share the same values, vision or judgment.”
