At least five of the nine featured musical acts set to play in a concert series organized by the Trump administration to mark the United States’ 250th anniversary have dropped out, just one day after the lineup was announced. The first to drop out, hours after Wednesday’s announcement, was Morris Day, who called his scheduled participation in the summer concert series on Washington DC’s National Mall a baseless “rumor”.
Later on Wednesday, Young MC posted a message that began: “I have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event.” “The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” he added, before casting doubt on the claim from Freedom 250, the group created by Donald Trump to organize the celebration of the US’s semiquincentennial, that the series was nonpartisan. And on Thursday, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli all either dropped out or expressed surprise that they had ever been booked.
“The Commodores will not be performing,” the group said in a statement. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.” Freedom Williams, C+C Music Factory’s lead rapper, said in a video statement apparently recorded in a bathroom that he had been blindsided by texts from friends horrified that he was “doing the Trump Freedom show” and “fucking with Trump”.
“I’m like: ‘What? What are you talking about?’” Williams said he replied to people “I’ve known for years, who know I don’t fuck with Trump”.
“I know where I stand. I know who the fuck I am,” he added, before explaining that his agent had not mentioned any connection with Donald Trump when he pitched the show.