128 ‘Artists and Cultural Leaders’ Sign Open Letter Endorsing Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders’ campaign on Friday unveiled a list of actors, directors, musicians and tech industry players and who have endorsed the independent Vermont Senator and self-described socialist’s bid for the presidency.

Actors Will Ferrell, Jeremy Piven, John C. Reilly, Danny DeVito, and Sarah Silverman are among the 128 “artists and cultural leaders” that have put their names to an open letter calling for Sanders to be the Democrat presidential nominee.

Notable musicians who have signed the letter include David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt, Alejandro Escovedo, members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and composer Hans Zimmer.

“We – the undersigned artists, musicians and cultural leaders of America – are excited to endorse a new vision for our country,” the open letter reads. “It’s a vision that pushes for a progressive economic agenda. It’s a vision that creates jobs, raises wages, protects the environment, and gets big money out of politics.”

“We endorse Bernie Sanders to become the 2016 Democratic Nominee for President of the United States of America.”

In addition to the many actors and musicians who signed the letter, director and frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and venture capitalist Guy Saperstein also lent their support.

“As artists and citizens, we believe it is time for government to once again represent the people and not just big money,” McKay said in a statement released by the Sanders campaign. “Bernie Sanders is the only candidate speaking against the wide spread legalized corruption that has handed our government to billionaires, large corporations and banks.”

Presidential campaigns face a September 30 deadline for finance reporting, and Variety speculates the  move to release the list Friday represents an attempt by the Sanders campaign to prove its upward momentum. The Vermont senator has show strong support in several polls in key early primary states while support for frontrunner Hillary Clinton has foundered.

Recent reports suggest support for Clinton among Hollywood’s major Democrat bundlers is not uniform, and that Sanders or a possible run from Vice President Joe Biden could draw significant support away from her.

Nevertheless, Clinton has raised millions from Hollywood supporters including billionaire Haim Saban and Dreamworks head Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Check out the complete list of Artists for Bernie here.