These music stars pull out of President Trump’s Freedom 250 concert
Several artists scheduled to perform at the Great American State Fair, organized by President Donald Trump’s nonprofit organization Freedom 250, have pulled out of the event.
As artists participate in the Great American State Fair, John Oliver indulges in some schadenfreude.
The comedian began the May 31 episode of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight” by poking fun at the news that the “first wave” of performers had been announced for the Great American State Fair, a 16-day event on the National Mall hosted by President Donald Trump-backed Freedom 250, but only multiple artists had declined to participate.
Oliver first joked that the initial lineup, which included artists like Martina McBride, Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice, and Bret Michaels, was substandard.
“It’s a lineup of people I haven’t thought of since 2009,” Oliver quipped. “Honestly, this sounds more like Rhonda’s 50th anniversary playlist than America’s 250th anniversary. The only really surprising thing about that lineup is that there aren’t any special appearances by the Sham Wow guy or the Gushers kids with raspberry heads.”
Since the lineup was announced, a number of performers have dropped out of the event, including Michaels, Milli Vanilli and Young MC. Some of the artists said they assumed the event, scheduled to run from June 25 to July 10, was nonpartisan. “The artists were never informed of any political involvement in the event,” Young MC said in a Facebook post.
“We’ve had a lot of cancellations,” Oliver said on “Last Week Tonight.” “I have to say, I didn’t pull out the vanilla ice cream. I think that sounds like the answer to the question, ‘Why is that baby tip cloudy?'”
Oliver also teased some of the other events scheduled for the Great American State Fair, including screenings of the films “National Treasure” and “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” The late-night host joked that this was “a real ‘substitute history teacher’ bringing energy to the proceedings.”
“Given what has happened so far, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if I received a press release from Ferris Wheel tomorrow saying, “Due to political divisiveness, we will not be attending the 250th anniversary celebration.”
In a May 30 social media post, President Trump suggested canceling the event, saying, “We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY” instead of a performance by “overpriced singers who no one wants to listen to, whose music is boring, and who complain all the time.”
Contributors: Saman Shafiq and Mike Snider, USA TODAY
