Nelly has defended his decision to perform at US president Donald Trump’s inauguration ball after a backlash, saying it is “an honour for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office”.
The Hot in Herre singer is booked to perform alongside country singer Jason Aldean and the Village People on Monday at the Liberty Inaugural Ball, one of three official balls marking Trump’s return to office. Other acts who are performing at Trump’s various inauguration events include Carrie Underwood, Gavin DeGraw and Billy Ray Cyrus, who have also faced a backlash from fans.
Nelly’s social media has been flooded with criticism, with some noting that his performance for Trump falls on Martin Luther King Day, and fresh after a presidential campaign during which Trump and his supporters made a series of racist remarks aimed at Black and Latino people and immigrants.
During a livestreamed conversation with fellow rapper Willie D on Sunday, Nelly said he was “not political” or “trying to tell anybody who they should vote for” by agreeing to perform at a Trump event.
“This is not me telling you, ‘Yo, you should vote for this candidate.’ I think you should do your homework and figure out what best helps you and the people who you love and you provide for because I’m clueless on a lot of things when it gets down to it,” he said.
“But what I will say is that, I respect the office. This isn’t politics. The politics, for me, is over. [Trump] won! He’s the president. He’s the commander in chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world … It is an honour for me to perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office.”
Nelly said those criticising him did not understand that he was performing out of respect for the presidency, adding: “If President Biden would’ve asked me to perform, I would’ve performed. If Vice-President Kamala Harris would’ve won and asked me to perform, I would’ve performed … I didn’t know that you was riding with me because you thought I would ride for who you voted for. I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices. If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument.”
Asked if he was a Trump supporter, Nelly replied: “I support the president of the United States regardless of who is in office. Regardless, I respect the office.”
In 2017, Nelly told Page Six that he didn’t approve of Trump during his first term: “You know the thing about Donald Trump is that I liked Donald Trump, I did, I just don’t like Donald Trump as my president,” he said at the time. “Dude is a trip. Pre-presidency, I was cool with the Donald. Loved his hotels. I’m more or less mad at him because I can’t stay at his hotel now. You done fucked that up.”
Last week the Village People released a statement in anticipation of criticism over their upcoming performances at several inauguration events. Their song YMCA was a staple at Trump’s campaign rallies.
“We know this won’t make some of you happy to hear however we believe that music is to be performed without regard to politics,” the band wrote on Facebook. “Our song YMCA is a global anthem that hopefully helps bring the country together after a tumultuous and divided campaign where our preferred candidate lost. Therefore, we believe it’s now time to bring the country together with music which is why Village People will be performing at various events as part of the 2025 Inauguration of Donald J Trump.”
Over the weekend, Rick Ross, Soulja Boy and Snoop Dogg were also criticised after they performed at the Crypto Ball in Washington DC, an event described by organisers as a “celebratory setting intended to honour … America’s first ‘crypto president’.” The 1,500 attendees, who paid upwards of $2,500 for a seat, were reportedly given “Make Bitcoin Great Again” red baseball caps. Snoop Dogg had previously called Trump supporters “stupid motherfuckers”.
