The White House again drew on celebrity activists as it marked another legislative milestone: Cyndi Lauper performed and spoke briefly to reporters on Tuesday as President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that will protect same-sex and interracial marriage rights at the federal lebel.
“I came here today because I just wanted to say thank you to President Biden, Speaker Pelosi, Vice President Harris and all the advocates on his team because for once, our families, mine and a lot of my friends, people you know, sometimes your neighbors,” Lauper told reporters in a surprise appearance in the briefing room. “We can rest easy tonight because our families are validated, because we are allowed to love who we love, which sounds odd to say, but Americans can now who we love. Bless Joe Biden and all the people who worked on this for allowing people not to worry about their future.”
The Respect for Marriage act would ensure that same-sex marriages rights are protected at the federal level. The legislation passed with bipartisan support, amid fears that past Supreme Court precedent would be overturned.
Lauper later performed True Colors at a South Lawn ceremony, joined by Sam Smith, who sang Stay with Me. Last fall, the White House brought James Taylor to perform at an event to mark the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The ceremony was carried by CNN and MSNBC, but not Fox News.
With the columns of the Truman Balcony bathed in rainbow colors, Biden said that the bill was “a vital step toward equality, toward liberty and justice, not just for some, but everyone.”
Some 3,000 people gathered for the ceremony, bundled up with temperatures in the 30s, but entertained to disco tunes from ABBA and the Bee Gees, among others. Once Biden signed the bill, Born This Way was blasted on the giant speakers.
Before Biden took the stage, the crowd heard his words from a 2012 appearance on Meet the Press, in which he expressed his support for marriage equality, becoming one of the highest profile public officials to do so. Biden, then vice president, upstaged President Barack Obama’s own plans to do so later that year. But Biden had signaled his support days earlier, when he met with LGBT donors and activists at the home of HBO’s Michael Lombardo and Sonny Ward.
“I got in trouble,” Biden quipped.
More to come.