Comedians cancel Dreamforce performance after Benioff draws backlash for Trump support

Comedians Kumail Nanjiani and Ilana Glazer dropped retired of performing astatine Salesforce’s yearly tech league this week aft the company’s main enforcement Marc Benioff made arguable remarks that showed his enactment for President Trump.

Last week, Benioff told the New York Times helium thought Trump should deploy the National Guard to trim transgression successful San Francisco, comments that sparked backlash from Silicon Valley philanthropists and Democrats.

On Friday, Benioff wholly walked backmost his remarks and apologized.

“I bash not judge the National Guard is needed to code information successful San Francisco,” helium wrote connected societal media tract X. “My earlier remark came from an abundance of caution astir the event, and I sincerely apologize for the interest it caused.”

Salesforce, a bundle institution based successful San Francisco, provides a level that businesses usage to negociate lawsuit information and way sales. The institution confirmed the comedians dropped retired but the entertainers haven’t said publically what prompted the last-minute cancellation. A root adjacent to the institution told the San Francisco Chronicle that Nanjiani became sick and that led to his scheduled opener Glazer to cancel arsenic well.

Nanjiani and Glazer haven’t publically spoken retired astir Benioff’s remarks astir the National Guard.

Both comedians, though, person been captious of Trump successful the past and his anti-immigrant rhetoric. Earlier this year, Glazer spoke astatine a “No Kings” protest, which organizers accidental is to meant combat backmost against authoritarian policies pushed by Trump and his administration. This week, she promoted the adjacent bid of demonstrations, scheduled to instrumentality spot connected Oct. 18, stating it wasn’t a partisan contented connected Instagram.

The San Francisco Standard reported earlier connected the cancellation.

Benioff has grappled with a increasing backlash since helium made comments astir Trump and the National Guard. The contention overshadowed Dreamforce, a league successful San Francisco that featured well-known speakers including tech executives, authorities officials and entertainers.

Nanjiani played Dinesh successful the HBO bid “Silicon Valley” and co-wrote and starred successful the Oscar-nominated 2017 movie “The Big Sick.” Glazer co-created and starred successful the Comedy Central bid “Broad City” and the 2024 drama movie “Babes.”

In their absence, comedian David Spade performed astatine Dreamforce connected Thursday afternoon, closing retired the conference.

Ahead of the event, which ended connected Thursday, Benioff appeared to dial backmost his remarks.

On societal media tract X, helium said helium was trying to marque a constituent astir making the league arsenic harmless arsenic possible.

“Keeping San Francisco harmless is, archetypal and foremost, the work of our metropolis and authorities leaders,” helium wrote connected X. Benioff besides said he’s donating an other $1 cardinal to money larger hiring bonuses for caller constabulary officers.

Benioff, who has antecedently said he’s an autarkic and was erstwhile a Republican, has backed Democrats and supported wide causes specified arsenic a concern taxation for stateless services. But he’s besides been captious of nationalist information successful San Francisco and has threatened to determination Dreamforce from San Francisco to Las Vegas.

The league brings astir 50,000 radical to the city, generates $130 cardinal successful gross for San Francisco and creates 35,000 section jobs, according to Salesforce. The institution announced earlier this week it was investing $15 cardinal successful San Francisco implicit 5 years to beforehand artificial intelligence.

On Thursday, salient Silicon Valley task capitalist and Democratic donor Ron Conway resigned from the Salesforce Foundation board. In an email archetypal viewed by the New York Times, Conway told Benioff that helium “now hardly admit the idiosyncratic I person truthful agelong admired.”

“Your obsession with and changeless yearly threats to determination Dreamforce to Las Vegas is ironic, since it is simply a information that Las Vegas has a higher complaint of convulsive transgression than San Francisco,” Conway wrote successful the email. “San Francisco does not request a national penetration due to the fact that you don’t similar paying for other information for Dreamforce.”

Conway, laminitis and managing spouse of SV Angel, is wide regarded arsenic the “Godfather of Silicon Valley” due to the fact that of his aboriginal investments successful large tech companies specified arsenic Google, Facebook and PayPal. SV Angel didn’t instantly respond to a petition for comment.

A Salesforce spokesperson said successful a connection they person “deep gratitude for Ron Conway and his unthinkable contributions to the Salesforce Foundation Board for implicit a decade.”

On Friday, entrepreneur and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs published an effort successful the Wall Street Journal citing immoderate of Benioff’s earlier remarks and claims that nary 1 has fixed much to San Francisco. The widow of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs besides founded and heads the philanthropic organization, Emerson Collective.

“The connection beneath that remark was unmistakable: In his eyes, generosity is an auction—and argumentation is the prize awarded to the highest bidder,” she wrote. “But giving that expects power is thing but generous.”