Stars reunite for Clinton

Will & Grace stars (from left) Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally reunited on the set of the pair's old apartment in a mini episode convincing Karen and Jack to support Hillary Clinton.
Will & Grace stars (from left) Debra Messing, Eric McCormack, Sean Hayes and Megan Mullally reunited on the set of the pair's old apartment in a mini episode convincing Karen and Jack to support Hillary Clinton. PHOTO: SEAN HAYES/ TWITTER

WASHINGTON • After a 10-year hiatus from television, the cast of Will & Grace came together on Monday for a mini episode centred on convincing Karen, who is old pals with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, and Jack, who is an undecided voter, to cross over to team Clinton.

It is not uncommon for left-leaning Hollywood to unite behind a Democratic presidential candidate, but this year, it seems disdain for Hillary Clinton's opponent is also motivating these famous faces to join forces.

Trump is not without his own celebrity endorsements - including former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, reality TV personality Omarosa Manigault, rocker Ted Nugent, actress Kirstie Alley and actor Lou Ferrigno, who have spoken with reporters, tweeted their support and posted videos on YouTube.

But none has gone so far as Will and Grace, who reunited on the set of their old apartment in a 10minute episode that was released online on Monday, the night of the first 2016 general election debate between Trump and Clinton and the eve of National Voter Registration Day.

In the episode, actors Debra Messing, Sean Hayes, Megan Mullally and Eric McCormack manage to cram in references to Broadway hit Hamilton, Brangelina's divorce, Clinton's pantsuits, Trump's wall and a butt double in last year's 50 Shades Of Grey film.

In the end, after a rousing speech from Grace about breaking through the glass ceiling and giving little girls an example to work towards, Jack is admittedly unconvinced.

Will approaches slowly, gripping Jack's shoulders. "Katy Perry," he says, "likes Hillary."

"And bingo was her name-o!" Jack exclaims. "Sorry, Karen. I'm with her."

The Internet gleefully celebrated this on-screen reunion, which the cast had been teasing for days on social media. At the end of the mini episode and across social media, the cast encouraged viewers to register to vote - and to use the hashtag #votehoney.

Fans of the political drama The West Wing were equally elated to learn that some of the actors who starred in the show's lead roles reunited in Ohio during the weekend to campaign for Clinton. The cast were not joined by their fictional leader, President Bartlet, played by Martin Sheen, though the actor did appear in a different celebrity-filled spot with the same message.

He speaks in snippets, strewn together with others from, as the video defines it, a "ton of famous people" led by "Iron Man" Robert Downey Jr, calling on Americans to register to vote. "But you get this many famous people together only if the issue is one that truly matters to all of us," the actors say, finishing one another's sentences.

"A disease." "Or an ecological crisis." "Or a racist, abusive coward who could permanently damage the fabric of our society."

WASHINGTON POST

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on September 29, 2016, with the headline Stars reunite for Clinton. Subscribe