Former Vice President Kamala Harris delivered remarks critical of the current administration during an awards dinner in Beverly Hills, California, on Wednesday, where video captured a musician onstage appearing to fall asleep during part of her speech, as reported by The New York Post.

The moment occurred at the Public Counsel’s William O. Douglas Award Dinner, an event hosted by a nonprofit law firm. Footage obtained by TMZ and recorded by an audience member showed a saxophonist seated onstage with his eyes closed and head down for nearly a minute while Harris spoke just a few feet away.

During her remarks, Harris warned about potential public reaction to election-related actions.

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“People would take to the streets if they tried to cancel elections,” Harris said, according to the video.

The musician remained motionless for a portion of the speech before later appearing to wake up. The clip showed the saxophonist resuming activity near the end of Harris’ remarks.

Harris used the speech to outline concerns about election access and criticize the administration currently in the White House. In her comments, she described what she characterized as a long-term effort to restrict voting.

“They have had an agenda that has been in place for decades to get to this very moment and beyond, which is to make it so difficult for the people to vote that they won’t,” she said.

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She continued, “Because they know the people are not stupid and see the corrupt, incompetent, callous administration that is in the White House right now, and they are so damn scared of losing the midterms.”

The event featured Harris as the recipient of the William O. Douglas Award. She participated in an onstage discussion with Uzo Aduba, who interviewed her following the award presentation.

During the conversation, Harris discussed political strategy and messaging, stating that Democrats “need to be ruthless” in responding to Republican opponents. She also reflected on recent political outcomes, saying Democratic politicians “dropped the ball in a variety of ways.”

Harris urged continued political engagement, encouraging attendees to “challenge the status quo and fight the system on behalf of the people.”

The saxophonist’s moment onstage drew attention online after the video circulated, with viewers noting the timing of the incident as Harris delivered some of her most pointed remarks of the evening.

LMFAO! Kamala Harris was giving an 'energetic' speech and the saxophonist literally FELL ASLEEP while she was going off on a tirade — TMZ

He is SNOOZED Please run Kamala again for president, Democrats — it would be a GIFT to Republicans pic.twitter.com/SvtaSoMTP1 — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) May 1, 2026

The Public Counsel event took place in Beverly Hills, drawing attendees from legal, entertainment, and political circles. The William O. Douglas Award is presented annually to individuals recognized for contributions to justice and public service.

The video of the incident spread across social media platforms, where it was widely shared and discussed following the event.

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