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Jennifer Holliday Changes Her Mind, Won’t Perform at Trump Inauguration After All

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Santiago Felipe/Getty ImagesIt took just 24 hours for Jennifer Holliday to go from a planned performance at President-elect Donald Trump‘s inauguration this Friday, to changing her mind and backing out.  And backlash from her fans is the reason why.

News first surfaced last Friday that the Tony- and Grammy-winning singer was a scheduled performer at the inauguration.  Her LGBT fans in particular were very upset, given the stance Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence have taken on issues that matter to the LGBT community.

But by Saturday, Holliday had reversed course, saying in a letter to The Wrap that what changed her mind was a essay published on The Daily Beast that touted her as an LGBT icon, and then described Trump and Pence’s positions on LGBT-related issues.

Calling her decision to perform a “lapse of judgment,” Holliday’s letter confessed she was “uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history,” and apologized for “causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans.

“My only choice must now be to stand with the LGBT Community and to state unequivocally that I WILL NOT PERFORM FOR THE WELCOME CONCERT OR FOR ANY OF THE INAUGURATION FESTIVITIES!” Holliday declares, concluding her letter with, “Please know that I HEAR YOU and I feel your pain. 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.”  Holliday originated the role of Effie White in the 1981 Broadway production of Dreamgirls.

Country singers Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood, rock band 3 Doors Down, and America’s Got Talent winner Jackie Evancho are confirmed performers at the inauguration.

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