Michelle Obama Voter-Registration Instagram Livestream Taps Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, DJ Khaled and More
UPDATED: Michelle Obama is taking over Instagram Live next week — with several celebrity guests — for a seven-and-a-half-hour event urging Americans to register to vote.
The Registered and Ready Takeover, organized by the former First Lady’s When We All Vote nonprofit advocacy organization, will take place Tuesday, Sept. 22, which is National Voter Registration Day.
The daylong takeover on Instagram Live will feature Michelle Obama livestreaming for the first time on the platform. She’ll hold conversations with guests including Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya, Ayesha Curry and NBA player Chris Paul about the importance of getting registered and ready to vote early.
Others scheduled to participate in the Registered and Ready Takeover include When We All Vote ambassadors DJ Khaled and Fat Joe, along with Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. (Billie Eilish, originally scheduled to appear on the Instagram Live, can no longer participate in the livestream but she will be part of promoting the event, a rep said.)
The event will run 11 a.m.-6:30 p.m ET on Sept. 22. The livestream will be available on Instagram (at @WhenWeAllVote, @MichelleObama and @Nike) and YouTube. Portions of the event are being hosted in partnership with Nike and Laurene Powell Jobs’ Emerson Collective.
Throughout the takeover, DJs including D-Nice, DJ Cassidy, DJ Envy and Hannah Bronfman will perform live sets. The event will end with a virtual “#CouchParty” to encourage viewers to text eligible voters and get them registered, with the goal of reaching more than 500,000 Americans.
When We All Vote says it’s a nonpartisan organization. But Michelle Obama is obviously firmly in the blue camp — at last month’s Democratic National Convention, she gave an impassioned speech about the dangers of re-electing President Trump. When We All Vote is registered as a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, meaning it’s barred from campaigning for political candidates. A rep for the organization said, “We take pride in reaching all voters… Mrs. Obama’s involvement with When We All Vote is always nonpartisan.”
The full lineup for the Registered and Ready Takeover on Instagram will be announced in next few days (register for updates at this link). The event is part of When We All Vote’s Week of Action, which also will include in-person food and voter-registration drives in nine U.S. cities and other virtual events across the country.
This past Monday, ABC aired “VOMO: Vote or Miss Out,” an hourlong special hosted by Kevin Hart created by digital media company ATTN: in conjunction with When We All Vote.
When We All Vote, launched by Michelle Obama in 2018, is a group that aims to increase participation in elections. Co-chairs of the organization are Tom Hanks, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Janelle Monáe, Chris Paul, Faith Hill, Selena Gomez, Liza Koshy, Megan Rapinoe, Shonda Rhimes, Tracee Ellis Ross, Kerry Washington and Rita Wilson.
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