A Freedom 250 concert series on the National Mall announced headliners including Martina McBride, C+C Music Factory, Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, Young MC, the Commodores, Morris Day and The Time, Flo Rida, and Bret Michaels. Within less than two days, backlash from fans prompted three groups to back out. Original members of other acts spoke out and distanced themselves from “zombie” versions of their bands that may still perform. Morris Day said on Instagram that the situation had become a problem. Young MC said he was booked under false pretenses, stating he was not told about political involvement and that the event was described as Trump-backed despite claims of non-partisanship. He also said he agreed to take Rob Base’s slot without realizing the event’s political alignment.
"Less than a day and a half later, the lineup has become yet another Trump 2.0 fiasco. Amid apparent backlash from fans, three groups have backed out, and (original) members of two of the other groups have spoken out against the event and distanced themselves from the zombie versions of their bands who may still perform there."
"Not this time, Morris Day said Wednesday on Instagram: The 59-year-old Young MC alleged that he and other artists were booked under false pretenses, writing in a Facebook post that: 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. And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as Trump-backed". I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged."
"He later told VIBE that he had agreed to take rapper and friend Rob Base's slot at the event (following Base's death from cancer last week) without realizing it would be MAGA-aligned: I had no clue it was considered a 'Trump-backed' event, so that was new to me. My whole thing was 'tell me what the event is, what it's about, who you are, and then give me the choice of whether I want to do the eve"
#freedom-250 #national-mall-concerts #trump-aligned-events #artist-withdrawals #80s90s-pop-and-hip-hop
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