Popular Black social media influencer Kai Cenat claims he snubbed the Harris campaign after they reached out to him to set up an interview with Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
Mr. Cenat, a livestreamer with 6.4 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, said earlier last week he was getting calls from the Harris campaign and the Secret Service about a potential livestream with Ms. Harris, but he said he wanted to stay away from politics and did not care much about the political world.
Mr. Cenat raged about getting calls from the Secret Service because the campaign wants to collaborate.
“I’ve got the f——— Secret Service calling me five times,” he said.
Some Black social media influencers are critical that the Harris campaign is overstating its support from Black voters.
Other popular social media influencers and other media personalities of color were shocked when they heard Mr. Cenat’s tirade and wondered if the Harris campaign was trying to match former President Donald Trump, who recently sat down for interviews with popular livestreamers Adin Ross and Logan Paul.
“I was shocked that Kai turned this down, not because Kai’s into politics, but because what happens is that there is a Democratic programming that happens around this time,” DJ Akademiks said on his YouTube channel. “It happens to all the big media companies and also entertainers, rappers alike, are pressured with ‘Yo, hey, if you Black, you better do this.’”
Social media influencer Pink Book Lessons noted that Mr. Cenat has done streams in the past with celebrities such as Kevin Hart, Nicki Minaj, Ice Spice and Tyla.
“He’s been pressured in the last couple of days to have a political guest on, specifically Kamala Harris, after Trump did a livestream with another young popular streamer Adin Ross,” the influencer said.
The Washington Times contacted the Harris camp but did not hear back.
According to a source close to the situation, TMZ reported Mr. Cenat’s team had been talking to a third party with loose ties to the Democratic National Convention host committee, but that no one from the Harris camp approached him or his team.
The Washington Times reached out to Mr. Cenat for comment.
Radio host Charlamagne tha God said: “Kai hit me and tell me whoever sent you that text, man, because whoever on Vice President Kamala Harris’ team hit Kai Cenat to do a live stream, they need to be fired. Stop letting social media run her campaign. You saw Trump on Adin Ross and you saw the attention that garnered.”
He added: “You saw all the social media start saying the vice president needs to go on Kai Cenat, and you ran to go make that happen. Not even stopping to think, ’Is this organic? Does Kai Cenat even care about politics?’”
• Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Nicki Minaj’s name.
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.
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