Donald Trump Inauguration 2017 News: Tony Award-Winner Jennifer Holliday Cancels Performance
With barely a week before the inauguration ceremony of President-elect Donald Trump, reports are rife that Tony Award-winner Jennifer Holliday declined the invitation to perform in the Jan. 20 occasion.
According to The New York Times, the turning point of Holliday's decision was reading an article from The Daily Beast titled "Jennifer Holliday Will Perform at Trump's Inauguration, Which Is Heartbreaking to Gay Fans." Since Holliday issued an open letter to address the issue, the article was updated with the title "Jennifer Holliday Pulls Out of Trump Inauguration, Apologizes to LGBT Community."
Holliday handed the public statement to The Wrap to announce the cancellation of her performance at Donald Trump's inauguration.
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In the letter, Holliday addressed "[her] beloved LGBT community" asking that they let her explain why she first agreed to perform at the inaugural event. The "Dreamgirls" star said that the event was presented to her as a welcome concert "for the people." She also explained that she has been dubbed as a "bi-partisan songbird" for performing at previous U.S. presidents' inaugurations regardless of their political party.
"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 polarized 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 be mistaken for support of Donald Trump and Mike Pence," Holliday explained.
Noting The Daily Beast article, Holliday reiterated her choice to stand with the LGBT community. She restated her apologies for her "lapse of judgment" and acknowledged that she is "uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans."
In the end, Holliday wanted to assure her fans that she hears and feels their pain. She also acknowledged the great contribution of the LGBT community during the beginning of her career.
Performances from Toby Keith, 3 Doors Down and more can be watched on Jan. 20, at 9:30 a.m. EST before Trump and Pence's inauguration.
