US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not so warmly received when she made a surprise guest appearance at the Global Citizen’s music festival in Central Park on Saturday night.
Pelosi (D-Calif.), wearing a white pantsuit and matching scarf, appeared to be booed as she took the stage to speak briefly, social media video shows.
The House speaker was discussing climate change and cutting carbon emissions in the speech and some booing was audible from the start, videos show.
“As speaker of the House, I am here to thank you for your dazzling advocacy, entrepreneurial thinking, and determination as global citizens,” she told the crowd after her introduction.
Some audience members cheered Pelosi but others heckled her from the crowd, with the ruckus continuing for most of her remarks.
“It’s thanks to your help that the United States recently enacted historic climate legislation, which will be a game changer,” Pelosi said as the rumble continued. “It will slash carbon pollution by 40% by 2030, it will give a historic, an historic $370 billion to fight the climate crisis.”
As boos and cheers continued, several hecklers are heard yelling “Let’s go!,” apparently looking for the evening’s entertainment to resume.
Pelosi tried to continue her speech, saying the bill would result in “better water and air for our children” as well as “better-paying jobs and lower energy bills for their parents.”
The audience continued to make noise over the remarks as Pelosi closed by saying her grandchildren Paul and Thomas were in the audience — and she had agreed to keep her remarks short so as not to delay more music.
The California Democrat, who also appeared at the festival in 2016, this time posed backstage with Nick Jonas’ wife, actor and activist Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who was one of the show’s hosts.
The annual music festival offers free tickets to tens of thousands of fans who take action toward ending extreme poverty.
Global Citizen tweeted out its thanks to Pelosi for the appearance.
“Thank you, @SpeakerPelosi for recognizing Global Citizens all around the world who took action in support of the new, historic climate legislation in the US!” the tweet stated.
This year’s festival featured major acts such as Metallica, Usher, Mariah Carey and the Jonas Brothers, who performed for the Great Lawn.