Hollywood insiders have reportedly directed their ire at DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg now that Joe Biden will surely secure the presidential nomination in the wake of the failed assassination attempt on Donald Trump over the weekend.
As Breitbart News reported, the Democrats quieted all movements within the party to replace Joe Biden as the nominee following the failed assassination attempt on former President Trump’s life this weekend; the focus now shifting toward unity in the wake of a historic moment unseen in over 40 years.
“We’ve all resigned ourselves to a second Trump presidency,” one senior Democrat lawmaker was quoted as saying to Axios.
As Breitbart News reported last month, the former chairman of the Walt Disney Company, CEO and co-founder of DreamWorks “had to engage in some heavy lifting to convince skeptical Democrat donors that President Joe Biden isn’t too old to run again.”
Last year, Jeffrey Katzenberg — who serves as Biden’s re-election co-chair — faced significant skepticism from some important Democrat contributors who believed the octogenarian Biden isn’t up to another four years in office, according to a New York Times report.
Even after Katzenberg tried to allay their concerns, some still weren’t convinced, prompting Katzenberg to invite them to a White House meeting with Biden to persuade them to come aboard.
According to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), Katzenberg told donors, “Trust me. And if you don’t trust me, trust, but verify. Come with me and see for yourself and engage with the president.”
“He started doing that in a consistent way,” said Newsom. “He really was instrumental in getting people off the sidelines and getting them to dive headfirst in this campaign.”
After Biden’s disastrous debate against former President Trump, wherein he lost his thoughts mid-sentence at times and showed slow and slurred speech, donors who reportedly gave over $30 million to the Biden campaign, at Katzenberg’s insistence, began to express fury. However, as the weeks pushed on, a growing divide began to show in Hollywood’s political donor class as major players like actor George Clooney, Netflix co-founder Reed Hastings, director Rob Reiner, Michael Douglass, and Endeavor CEO Ari Emmanuel calling for Biden to step aside for a younger candidate to take his place. Despite Biden’s insistence he’d stay in the race, the calls for him to step down did not subside. This past weekend, however, the movement to replace Biden all-but-vanished while the momentum shifted in Trump’s favor due to the failed assassination attempt. Stuck with Biden and with nowhere to run, insiders have been voicing their fury with Katzenberg behind the scenes. Per The Hollywood Reporter (THR):
Democrats in Hollywood are surveying the wreckage and looking for someone to blame. And for many, the obvious someone to point a finger at is Jeffrey Katzenberg, former DreamWorks co-founder, Quibi co-creator, and currently Biden’s campaign co-chair. For months, Katzenberg has not only been bragging about his intimate access to the President but assuring anyone who would listen (and write a check) that Biden was in tip-top mental shape. While Biden’s press conference last week soothed some frayed nerves, others remained unconvinced.
One top Hollywood donor told Hot Source that “people are pissed.”
“Katzenberg asked for big, big checks and when people asked about the President’s health, he said, ‘No, no, no, he’s fine.’ But that was just a lie, a total lie,” the donor said.
“Jeffrey viewed Biden like he was an animated character that he could market to people. There’s real resentment towards him,” another power player was quoted as saying.
“Jeffrey has been spinning in ways beyond even what the campaign does. His pomposity is sky high,” another said.
Another source took it even further, saying that Katzenberg’s insistence on propping up Biden stemmed from his secret jealousy of DreamWorks co-founders David Geffen and Steven Spielberg following the implosion of his failed tech platform Quibi in 2020.
“Katzenberg has always been in the shadows of Steven Spielberg and David Geffen, who have quietly become elder statesmen,” another executive. “He’s like the little brother trying to prove himself to the older brothers. He can’t help himself.”
At least one major Hollywood player, Barry Diller, chairman of IAC and Democratic donor who hired Katzenberg to be his assistant at Paramount back in 1974, went on the record to defend the bruised executive.
“I think Jeffrey Katzenberg has been a great, loyal, fundraiser and cheerleader for the President,” Diller told Hot Source. “I think he has handled a very difficult situation with sensitivity and thoughtfulness. He has deceived no one.”
Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube or Tubi. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.