These Musicians Refused to Perform at Trump’s Inauguration

Donald Trump’s search for talented artists to perform at his inauguration might be a total disaster. The president-elect’s team is hoping that respected artists, such as Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars will sign up for the show. But so far, the soon-to-be president hasn’t been too lucky. With performers backing out daily, the committee is on a seriously tight deadline to put the show together.

As January 20 nears, the list of performers is getting smaller. Most recently, Jennifer Holliday cancelled her appearance for the event. The Broadway singer wrote an open letter to The Wrap, explaining that she had a “lapse of judgement.” Holliday explained that she just wanted her voice to be “a healing and unifying force for hope through music.” The star denied her support for Trump and apologized to her LGBTQ fans who were offended by her plans to perform.

She joined Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli, who have also backed out of their performances. The fully booked Dion cancelled on Trump because of a show she had scheduled the same night, not because she’s anti-Trump. Bocelli, on the other hand, backed out of his performance because of death threats. His security team advised him to pull out of the show for safety reasons.

Other musicians, such as Kiss, Charlotte Church, Moby and Sir Elton John made it clear from the get-go that they would not be participating.

Elton John, who refused the offer to sing, told MIC in October that Trump succeeding in the election made him “fear for the world,” while Gene Simmons’ wife shouted “No!” multiple times on Twitter in reply to questions of him performing.

Church was also particularly offended by the invitation, not hesitating to post exactly how she felt on Twitter.

Moby also rejected his offer via social media.

Other artists, such as The Chainsmokers (whose manager just replied “False” after speculations of them performing) and Rebecca Ferguson (who will only play if she gets to sing “Strange Fruit”), let Trump’s team down gently.

Needless to say, the inauguration of this president might be a little different this time around.