‘This isn’t politics’: Nelly defends decision to perform at Trump inauguration ball after backlash
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Rapper says he is honoured to perform for the US president after he and other acts, including Village People and Billy Ray Cyrus, faced criticism. Nelly has defended his decision to perform at US president Donald Trump’s inauguration ball after a backlash, saying it is “an honour for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office”.
The Hot in Herre singer is booked to perform alongside country singer Jason Aldean and the Village People on Monday at the Liberty Inaugural Ball, one of three official balls marking Trump’s return to office. Other acts who are performing at Trump’s various inauguration events include Carrie Underwood, Gavin DeGraw and Billy Ray Cyrus, who have also faced a backlash from fans.
Nelly’s social media has been flooded with criticism, with some noting that his performance for Trump falls on Martin Luther King Day, and fresh after a presidential campaign during which Trump and his supporters made a series of racist remarks aimed at Black and Latino people and immigrants.
During a livestreamed conversation with fellow rapper Willie D on Sunday, Nelly said he was “not political” or “trying to tell anybody who they should vote for” by agreeing to perform at a Trump event. “This is not me telling you, ‘Yo, you should vote for this candidate.’ I think you should do your homework and figure out what best helps you and the people who you love and you provide for because I’m clueless on a lot of things when it gets down to it,” he said.
