Jennifer Aniston and Tig Notaro Join Hollywood’s Buttigieg Bandwagon
By Gene Maddaus
LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Pete Buttigieg has built a devoted following in Hollywood over the last few months, helping him lead the Democratic field in fundraising for the second quarter.
In a filing released Monday night, Buttigieg disclosed contributions from a bunch of bold-faced names, including Jennifer Aniston, Tig Notaro and Larry David. Buttigieg held numerous fundraisers in the quarter, raking in $24.1 million.
Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., is the first gay candidate to make a serious bid for the presidency. That has helped fuel his success with Hollywood’s gay donor community. David Geffen has already maxed out to Buttigieg, making a $5,600 contribution to cover both the primary and the general election. Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi each kicked in $2,800.
Also among the donors to Buttigieg are gay activist George Takei, Barbara Streisand, director Spike Jonze, and actors Ted Danson, Alyssa Milano, Kevin Bacon, Frances McDormand, Sean Hayes, Gina Gershon and John Stamos.
Also in the running for Hollywood’s affection are Sen. Kamala Harris and former Vice President Joe Biden. Harris’ donors include actors and producers such as Don Cheadle, Leslie Odom, Jr., Bill Bellamy, Jennifer Garner, Wendell Pierce, Lily Tomlin, Michael Deluca, Michael Douglas, James L. Brooks, Ryan Murphy, Rob Reiner, Troy Carter, and Sean Penn.
Biden did better among the executive ranks. Among those giving to the former VP were Chris Silbermann, the managing partner of ICM Partners, ex-20th Century Fox film CEO Stacey Snider, Sony film chairman Tom Rothman, and Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri. Reiner and Takei also gave to Biden, as did Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson.
Jeffrey and Marilyn Katzenberg decided to play the field, writing checks to at least 13 candidates: Biden, Harris, Buttigieg, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Cory Booker, ex-Gov. John Hickenlooper, ex-Rep. Beto O’Rourke, Rep. Seth Moulton, former housing secretary Julian Castro, Gov. Jay Inslee, and Sen. Michael Bennet.
Alan and Cindy Horn also spread their cash around, giving to Booker, Biden, Harris and Gillibrand.
About the only candidate not on the Katzenberg’s donation list was Sen. Bernie Sanders. Sanders has avoided the trappings of Hollywood fundraising in favor of an army of small-dollar donors, most of whom write checks for $27 or $2.70. “Vice” director Adam McKay and his wife, Shira Piven, each wrote checks to Sanders — though they eschewed the $27 routine and gave the maximum for the primary: $2,800.
McKay and Piven also gave to Warren and Inslee, both of whom had their own contingents in Hollywood. Jane Fonda and “Parks and Rec” and “The Good Place” showrunner Michael Schur also gave to Inslee. Warren got support from Scarlett Johansson, Ashley Judd, writer Vali Chandrasekaran, and Damon and Heidi Lindelof. (The Lindelofs also gave to Buttigieg and Gillibrand.)
Also of note: Booker snagged $2,800 from Shonda Rhimes, Irving Azoff gave the same amount to Bennet, and Marianne Williamson picked up a cool $2,050 from actor Jeff Bridges.
Last of all: in addition to giving to Harris, also donated $5,600 to Rep. Eric Swalwell, who dropped out of the race last week.
