Singer Jennifer Holliday on Saturday cancelled her appearance at Donald Trump’s inauguration, one day after his team announced she would be one of the few celebrities to perform at the event.
The Tony and Grammy award winner said in an open letter she would no longer be performing at an official Trump inauguration concert on Thursday and that her decision to accept an invitation had been “a lapse of judgement”.
In the letter, first reported by TheWrap, Holliday apologized to the LGBT community, writing that she was “uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans”.
Holliday, best known for her role in the Broadway show Dreamgirls, said she accepted the invitation so she could perform for her country but had not realized the decision would be interpreted as an expression of support for Trump as president.
The president-elect has appeared relatively friendly toward LGBT rights compared with his Republican predecessors, but the LGBT community and its supporters nonetheless fear his administration. Some cabinet picks have taken anti-LGBT positions in the past, and his vice-president, former Indiana governor Mike Pence, has a decades-long record of backing anti-LGBT legislation.
On Friday, one week before Trump’s swearing-in ceremony in Washington, the president-elect’s team announced they had secured Holliday, country singer Toby Keith and southern band 3 Doors Down to perform at an event on Thursday.
Until then, his campaign had been unable to emulate past inauguration events, where A-list celebrity performers and guests have become an expected sight. Beyoncé sang the national anthem at Barack Obama’s second inauguration, with other chart-topping artists including Katy Perry, Stevie Wonder and Brad Paisley performing at official inauguration events over the weekend.
In 1961, singer Frank Sinatra and poet Robert Frost performed at John F Kennedy’s inauguration events. In 2001, then chart toppers Jessica Simpson and Ricky Martin performed during George W Bush’s inauguration weekend.
But for Trump, A-listers have been vocal about their decision not to attend. Elton John, Céline Dion, Andrea Bocelli and Garth Brooks are among artists to decline invitations to perform. Cher, Julianne Moore and Amy Schumer have said they will join an anticipated 220,000 crowd protesting Trump in the Women’s March on Washington, which is set to take place the day after the inauguration.
Holliday’s fans immediately questioned her decision to perform, which she defended on Friday.
“I’m singing on the Mall for the people,” Holliday told the New York Times then. “I don’t have a dog in this fight. I’m just a singer, and it’s a welcome concert for the people on the Mall.”
She also said the Trump campaign had asked her, a Hillary Clinton supporter, to perform on Wednesday. By Saturday afternoon, Holliday responded to pressure from her fans, specifically those in the LGBT community.
“Please know that I HEAR YOU and I feel your pain,” Holliday wrote in her open letter. “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 though my star had long since faded.”