Music <\/p>\n
Two days ago, the Trump-affiliated nonprofit Freedom 250 announced<\/a> the lineup for a celebratory semiquincentennial concert series on the National Mall, branded the Great American State Fair. Its headliners included Vanilla Ice, the Commodores, Bret Michaels of Poison, Flo Rida, Martina McBride, Milli Vanilli, and the C+C Music Factory\u2014a handful of recognizable acts, albeit ones that had their respective heydays several decades ago. But almost as soon as the names were released\u2014and their headshots displayed on a seemingly AI-generated backdrop\u2014musicians started dropping out, saying they hadn\u2019t signed up for a partisan event.<\/p>\n One of the first to leave was Young MC, a.k.a. Grammy winner Marvin Young. The \u201cBust a Move\u201d rapper said that after he learned, belatedly, that the event was \u201cTrump-backed,\u201d he turned down the gig<\/a>. Funk singer (and Purple Rain<\/em> villain) Morris Day also chimed in<\/a>: \u201cIt\u2019s a no for me.\u201d By Friday, Michaels<\/a> and McBride<\/a> both announced that they were out too.<\/p>\n McBride, a 1990s country-pop singer, explained herself on Instagram. \u201cI saw it as just a bigger version of so many state fairs I have performed at over the years, celebrating community and what makes each state special,\u201d she wrote. \u201cSounds fun, right? Wholesome even. Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Apparently, these artists were surprised to discover that the group hosting the event, Freedom 250, is a private nonprofit associated with the Trump administration. President Donald Trump announced its formation in a video in December 2025; Mother Jones<\/em><\/a> alleges that it was founded so that Fourth of July celebrations on public lands could go forward without congressional oversight of the group\u2019s spending. (Vanity Fair<\/em> has reached out to Freedom 250 for comment. Freedom 250 is not to be confused with America250, a separate organization which was approved by Congress.) Earlier this month, Freedom 250 hosted a controversial worship event called Rededicate 250 on the National Mall, where primarily Christian pastors and religious influencers asked the American populace to turn back to God.<\/p>\n This spate of dropouts isn\u2019t the first time a Trump-affiliated concert in DC has floundered. Back in 2017, Trump struggled to attract performers<\/a> for his first inauguration. At the eleventh hour, country star Toby Keith, rock band 3 Doors Down, and perennial patriot Lee Greenwood<\/a> all ultimately signed on. His 2025 inauguration was a slightly different story: Carrie Underwood, Jewel, and rappers including Nelly and Snoop Dogg<\/a> all performed at inauguration-related events that year. Jewel, however, apologized<\/a> for her performance at Robert F. Kennedy Jr.\u2019s inauguration ball.<\/p>\n As Trump\u2019s approval ratings continue to spiral, it makes sense that artists may be wary of associating their brands with his co-optation of the semiquincentennial. Over the last year, a range of artists canceled planned appearances<\/a> at the Kennedy Center as Trump took over its board and added his name to the building\u2019s facade.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n When signing on to public and private events, artists are usually approached through their booking agents<\/a>, who present a select few requests to their clients for final approval. Some celebrities seem to be more comfortable than others with potentially \u201coff-brand\u201d appearances: Flo Rida, for instance, has been fairly catholic<\/a> in his approach, participating in the 2021 Eurovision contest<\/a> as a guest of the small landlocked nation San Marino and celebrating his 45th birthday<\/a> at an event during the Salesforce Dreamforce conference.<\/p>\n In a lengthy Instagram post, Michaels relayed his recollection of the original pitch for the Freedom 250 series. \u201cIt was described as a celebration of our country through music and a chance to honor our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers and hardworking Americans from all walks of life,\u201d he wrote. In the Trump era, all of these terms could reasonably be inferred to be euphemisms for \u201cconservative\u201d\u2014but Michaels explained that he feels a personal connection to those communities, and didn\u2019t immediately sense that this was a partisan event.<\/p>\n Eventually, though, Michaels says he realized that the Great American State Fair had \u201cevolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of\u201d and that he had received \u201cunfounded and unforgivable\u201d threats after his participation was announced.<\/p>\n As of now, Vanilla Ice and Freedom Williams of C+C Music Factory still seem to be on board with the series. In the meantime, the organization will presumably start looking for more artists to fill out its slate. In a statement, Freedom 250 spokesperson Rachel Reisner wrote, \u201cFreedom 250 is focused on our signature celebrations and events that honor our history and engage all Americans\u2014welcoming all who share our goal of commemorating this milestone in a way that uplifts and unites America.\u201d Organizers for the show also told The New York Times<\/em><\/a> that they are trying to persuade some performers to return.<\/p>\n Circumstantial evidence suggests that the planning of this concert series might have been slapdash from the beginning. The first poster for the event said that Milli Vanilli would perform, but featured a photograph of Fab Morvan\u2014whose Grammy was stripped after it was revealed that he and his late bandmate, Robert Pilatus, had lip-synched<\/a>. There seems to be some confusion about who is performing under the Milli Vanilli name. One of the original Milli Vanilli singers, Jodie Rocco, told the Associated Press<\/a> that her<\/em> Milli Vanilli\u2014the group of five original vocalists\u2014had never been invited to perform at Freedom 250. Morvan told The Guardian<\/em> earlier this year, however, that he now owns the rights<\/a> to the Milli Vanilli name. Rocco wrote in a statement on X, \u201cOthers using the name \u2018Milli Vanilli\u2019\u2026should be considered a tribute band.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Samantha Morton<\/a> Tells VF<\/em> Making The Odyssey<\/em> Was a \u201cReligious\u201d Experience<\/p>\n<\/li>\n The 10 Biggest Odyssey<\/em> Updates<\/a> From Homer\u2019s Original Text to Christopher Nolan\u2019s Latest Film<\/p>\n<\/li>\n\n