President Donald Trump’s troubled effort to host a star-studded musical celebration of the 250th anniversary of America’s independence was dealt another blow Friday when he canceled three shows amid political tensions.
The Trump administration has announced multiple headliners for the “Freedom 250” concert series, which will be held on the National Mall in Washington from June 25 to July 10.
But the campaign floundered as one campaign after another pulled out.
On Friday, glam rocker Bret Michaels and country star Martina McBride joined the Commodores and two other groups in announcing they would not attend. That leaves just four players intact from the lineup initially announced on Wednesday.
These include Vanilla Ice, CC Music Factory, Flo Rida and the surviving members of the duo Milli Vanilli, best known for their lip-syncing controversies more than three decades ago.
Michaels, the lead singer of the 1980s band Poison known for “Every Rose Has Its Thorn,” said on Facebook on Friday that he had made the “difficult decision to quit the show.”
“My shows have never been about politics. They are about giving people a place to come together, have a good time and forget about the stresses of life for a few hours,” he said.
“Unfortunately, a celebration of our country has turned into something more divisive than I agreed to be a part of.”
When asked by AFP about the withdrawal, a White House official said “this is not a White House event” and referred inquiries to organizers of the Freedom 250 celebrations.
Freedom 250 maintains that it is a non-partisan, non-political organization.
It describes itself as a public-private partnership, working with a White House task force to celebrate the anniversary. Trump established a task force last year to organize this summer’s festivities.
But Trump has publicly sought to leave his own mark on the celebrations, most notably on June 14 for his 80th birthday, staging an ultra-violent mixed martial arts match in a purpose-built arena on the White House lawn.
Award-winning country singer McBride has announced she will also not perform at next month’s Great American State Fair.
“I had the opportunity to perform at a non-partisan event but the outcome was misleading,” she told her followers in a post on X.
They join several other artists who have abandoned the show or denied rumors they would perform: rapper Young MC, known for his 1989 hit “Bust a Move”; musician Morris Day and the Time, who has worked with Prince; and Grammy-winning soul band the Commodores.
“The Commodores will not be performing at the event,” the band posted on Instagram on Thursday night. “We support progress for all Americans.”
But Vanilla Ice, best known for the 1990 hit “Ice Ice Baby,” insisted he would compete.
“I’m not going to get sucked into it. I’m here to party with America, man,” the performer told TMZ, adding that he would also perform for President Joe Biden, Russian leader Vladimir Putin or in Iran if asked.
As artists fled, Democrats on Friday parodied Trump’s event, posting photos of nine announced performers and putting a cross over five canceled performances.
By contrast, on Wednesday night, the nation’s capital hosted singer Bruce Springsteen, a fierce Trump opponent who announced he would return to the Washington area on Oct. 3 for the Power to the People Festival.
The show will feature the Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Public Enemy and other top-grossing acts.
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