Jennifer Holliday cancels Trump Inauguration performance, apologises to LGBT community
By Will Stroude
Jennifer Holliday has canceled her Trump Inauguration Concert, calling her initial decision a “lapse of judgement.”
The Dreamgirls star released an open letter addressed to the LGBT community, apologizing for the decision, NewNowNext reports.
It was announced on Friday that Holliday would be performing at Trump’s Make American Great Again! Welcome Celebration Inauguration concert alongside 3 Doors Down and Toby Keith.
The news was met with backlash as LGBT fans claimed that Holliday had betrayed” them.
Holliday, who previously performed for Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush, claimed that she was “uneducated” on the matter in her open letter. She writes, “To my beloved LGBT community…”
“Please allow me this opportunity to speak to you directly and to explain why I originally made my decision to perform at the inauguration which was what I had thought would be my simply keeping in my tradition of being a ‘bi-partisan songbird’ having sung for Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton and Bush.”
“I was asked to sing a song for what was presented to me as the ‘Welcome Concert For The People’ – in my mind I was reflecting on the past times of being asked to sing for presidents and I only focused on the phrase ‘For The People…’ I thought, For America!”
“I was honestly just thinking that I wanted my voice to be a healing and unifying force for hope through music to help our deeply polarizing country. Regretfully, I did not take into consideration that my performing for the concert would actually instead be taken as a political act against my own personal beliefs and mistaken for support of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.”
“In light of the information pointed out to me via the Daily Beast article on yesterday, my only choice must now be to stand with the LGBT community and to state unequivocally that I will not perform for the Welcome Concert or for any of the Inauguration festivities!”
“I sincerely apologise for my lapse of judgement, for being uneducated on the issues that affect ever American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans.”
“Please know that I hear you and I feel your pain. The LGBT community was mostly responsible for birthing my career and I am deeply indebted to you… You have loved me faithfully and unconditionally and for so many years you provided me with work even through my star had long since faded.”
The star concluded the letter by writing, “Thank you for communicating with me, I had no idea that I still meant so much to you all.”
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