Actor George Clooney, a major Obama fundraiser, said he is seriously considering backing Joe Biden over Hillary Clinton in 2016.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources in the entertainment industry hub say Clooney is genuinely thinking about supporting the vice president if he jumps into the 2016 race for the Democratic nomination.
Clooney, who held a fundraiser for President Obama at his home in 2012 that netted $15 million for his reelection campaign, has spoken negatively about Hillary Clinton in the past. The actor reportedly labeled Clinton "the most polarizing figure in American politics" in 2006. Clooney ultimately endorsed Obama in 2008.
However, he told Fusion host Jorge Ramos earlier this year that he would support Clinton in 2016, months before rumors about a Biden candidacy began brewing.
The actor’s spokesman Stan Rosenfield did not respond to comment for the report published Tuesday.
The Hollywood Reporter story also noted that an anonymous entertainment industry fundraiser said that many Hollywood Democrats who supported Obama but who have now backed Clinton are "prepared to jump ship" and endorse the vice president.
"People in Hollywood have literally been begging Biden to enter the race," the fundraiser, who recently met with Biden, disclosed. "Everyone seems wants him to run now. A lot of Obama people who went to Hillary initially are prepared to jump ship and go to Biden."
Biden has won at least one big Hollywood endorsement. Jay Sures, the managing partner at United Talent Agency who has donated thousands to Democrats, enthusiastically backed Biden as someone who "really understands what the average American is going through."
Meanwhile, unnamed Hollywood sources also said that Clinton allies in Los Angeles have had trouble selling tickets for her Sept. 27 fundraiser at the home of Rob Friedman, co-chairman of Lionsgate motion picture group, amid controversy surrounding her personal emails.