CNN —
Kerry Washington, Tony Goldwyn, Mindy Kaling and Ana Navarro are set to host the Democratic National Convention this week, convention officials told CNN.
According to organizers, first reported by CNN, each star will host one night of the four-day event and act as a sort of awards show presenter, kicking off the broadcast with opening remarks and then reappearing onstage throughout the evening to guide the audience through the show.
Goldwyn will host Monday night, Navarro on Tuesday, Kaling on Wednesday and Washington on Thursday, when Vice President Kamala Harris will formally accept the Democratic nomination.
All four presenters support the Democratic Party and have a history of publicly campaigning for candidates.
Washington, one of Hollywood’s most politically active celebrities, runs her own political nonprofit, Influence Change, which recruits fellow artists to promote civic engagement. She played a similar role at the 2020 Democratic National Convention, opening the third day. The actress and activist, who played a political fixer on Shonda Rhimes’ Scandal, also spoke at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.
Goldwyn, a Washington co-star on “Scandal,” played the president on the ABC drama. In real life, Goldwyn is also a spotlight activist for the Democratic Party. He supported Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential election. This summer, before President Joe Biden announced he would not seek a second term, Goldwyn attended a reproductive rights event with Biden’s reelection campaign.
In 2019, Kaling and Harris appeared in a cooking video making masala dosa, a South Indian dish, in which the “Office” actress and then-Senator Harris spoke about their Indian roots. The video was recently brought back into the spotlight after former President Donald Trump shared it on his social media platforms and attempted to attack Harris’ racial identity.
Navarro, who describes himself as a Republican, has supported Democratic candidates for the past decade since Trump entered politics. The television commentator and political strategist, a CNN contributor and co-host of ABC’s “The View,” said he voted Democratic for the first time in his life when Clinton ran against Trump in 2016. Navarro has said he supports Harris.
Many celebrities have rallied around Harris’ campaign in recent weeks – Hollywood stars have attended past Democratic conventions – but the level of enthusiasm for her has drawn comparisons with the showbiz support for former President Barack Obama.
While the Harris campaign welcomes the celebrity endorsements, a source familiar with the convention planning told CNN that the focus will be primarily on real Americans and the issues that affect them, but by using big-name stars, the campaigns hope to amplify their message to their respective fan bases.
The Democratic National Convention will feature Hollywood stars as well as political stars: the Obamas and Clintons are due to speak, and Biden is set to open the convention by touting Harris’ victory.