NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — Paul Mecurio, an Emmy and Peabody award-winning comedian who has worked and appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Colbert Report, solidified his work within the political space by hosting #ComicsForKamala. The Zoom event took place on Monday (August 5th) and has raised over $530,000 and climbing.
#ComicsForKamala was a virtual gathering that rallied support for Vice President and Democratic Presidential nominee Kamala Harris. This Zoom event featured an impressive lineup of Hollywood’s top comedic talents, including Ben Stiller, Whoopi Goldberg, Jason Bateman, Kathryn Hahn, Patton Oswalt, Jon Hamm, Cecily Strong, D.L. Hughley, Kathy Griffin, Max Greenfield, Craig Robinson, Ed Helms, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Tom Arnold, Sean Hayes, Lake Bell, Rosie O’Donnell, and many more.
The event was part of a broader series of digital fundraising efforts spearheaded by California Rep. Eric Swalwell. Swalwell has organized various calls to engage stand-up comedians in raising funds and bolstering organizational efforts for the Harris campaign. These initiatives include notable events like Black Women for Harris, White Dudes for Harris, and the record-breaking White Women for Harris, which saw over 100,000 participants, according to Salon.com.
#ComicsForKamala was a free Zoom event, but donations were requested —and they were received.
Parks and Recreation actor Nick Offerman stole the show with his own song – set to Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign song, “God Bless the USA.” The star, married to comedic actress and fellow participant Megan Mullally, sang, “So I’m proud to be a Kamala man who has quit the GOP because I can’t just abide by a man who’s tried for 34 felonies. And I’ll proudly stand up and face the facts that the men that I once cheered are a bunch of wingnut white nationalists… Well, those guys are fucking weird.” You can watch his performance below.
During Offerman’s nearly four-minute performance, the fundraiser raised $12,000. Halfway through the program, it raised more than $450,000 for the Harris campaign.
Saturday Night Live (SNL) alum and participant Cecily Strong zeroed in on Trump’s VP pick, Senator J.D. Vance. The Ohio legislator was the target of several roast jokes.
“J.D. Vance looks like a composite of every guy that’s called you a bitch on Bumble. Vance is confusing because his rhetoric wants us to panic about immigrants, but his eyeliner wants us to panic at the disco. J.D. Vance has been such a mistake that Trump keeps calling him Eric.”
Mecurio, an accomplished actor, has starred in his comedy specials for Comedy Central and HBO, appearing on shows such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and The Tonight Show and as a satirist on CNN and MSNBC. He hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Inside Out w/ Paul Mecurio and is an award-winning writer. You can access the podcast HERE.
Mecurio had this to say about the star-studded Zoom event, “It was an amazing night and an honor to host the event. The fact that we raised over $530,000 was a great accomplishment and a credit to all the terrific performers and guests who participated. Playing with such great comedians, actors and elected officials was a lot of fun. Not to mention, I got to chat with Luke Skywalker himself – Mark Hamill. And that was pretty cool. I could FEEL ‘The Force’ – or it was heartburn.”
You can relive the entire event HERE.
