Comedian and staunch Bernie Sanders supporter Sarah Silverman caused attendees at the Democratic National Convention to erupt into chaos Monday night as she called on her fellow Sanders supporters to unite behind Hillary Clinton in November.
“As some of you may know, I support Bernie Sanders and the movement behind him,” Silverman began her speech. “And Bernie’s already succeeded in so many ways! He proved that Citizens United is, in fact, not a necessary evil.”
“And by the way, Citizens United, isn’t that such a beautiful name for something that means ‘billionaires buying politicians?'” the 45-year-old comedian joked.
“Not only did Bernie wake us up, he made us understand what is possible and what we deserve,” Silverman added.
The comedian’s speech was well-received, but she seemed to run into trouble toward the end as she was asked to “stretch” it to accommodate musician Paul Simon, who was not yet ready to come out onstage.
After using much of her speech to extol the virtues of Sanders’s campaign, Silverman deadpanned: “Hillary is our Democratic nominee, and I will proudly vote for her.”
The Wells Fargo Arena quickly exploded into boos, jeers, cheers and competing chants of “Bernie!” and “Hillary!”
“I am proud to be a part of Bernie’s movement,” Silverman went on over the increasingly loud convention floor, “and a vital part of that movement is making absolutely sure that Hillary Clinton is our next President of the United States.”
Silverman was then rejoined by Sen. Al Franken, who had spoken alongside her before she delivered her remarks, as the pair waited for Paul Simon to be ready to perform. But all they could do was stand and listen as competing chants ricocheted all around the convention hall.
Silverman tried to calm the crowd down by offering a chant of “Unity, unity,” but to no avail.
“Can I just say, to the Bernie or bust people, you’re being ridiculous,” Silverman admonished the crowd, leading to an even bigger eruption from the convention floor. “They told us to stretch so I figured I’d add that.”
Finally, mercifully, Silverman and Franken introduced Simon, who played his hit song “Bridge Over Troubled Water” for the convention crowd.
Follow Daniel Nussbaum on Twitter: @dznussbaum
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