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UPDATED: January 15, 2017 12:15 PM ET

After news spread that Jennifer Holliday agreed to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, the songstress received a lot of criticism. According to The Wrap, she has decided to opt out of participating in the ceremony.

“I was honestly just thinking that I wanted my voice to be a healing and unifying force for hope through music to help our deeply polarized country,” Holliday wrote in an open letter that she penned for The Wrap. “Regretfully, I did not take into consideration that my performing for the concert would actually instead be taken as a political act against my own personal beliefs and be mistaken for support of Donald Trump and Mike Pence.”

In her letter, she specifically apologized to the LGBT community. “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.”

Artists who are slated to perform at the January 20 inauguration include 3 Doors Down, Lee Greenwood, and Toby Keith, reports The Wrap.

SOURCE: The Wrap


Last week on Instagram, Snoop Dogg posed the question to Black entertainers: “Which one of ya’ll will be the first to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration?”

The NSFW post gained thousands of likes and went viral within the hour.

On Friday, social media went into a frenzy after reports surfaced that Broadway legend, Jennifer Holliday, known for her enigmatic portrayal as “Effie White” in Dreamgirls, was confirmed to sing at the Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration in honor of Donald Trump on January 19, according to earlier reports.

But in an exclusive interview with The Wrap, Bill Carpenter, Holliday’s publicist, said his client’s participation has not yet been confirmed.

“Jennifer has been asked to perform but she hasn’t officially agreed to do so yet,” he told the outlet. “I’ll let you know later this afternoon for sure if she’ll be performing.”

Trump’s team released Holliday’s name as one of the entertainers for the event alongside The Piano Guys and The Frontmen of CountryToby Keith and 3 Doors Down will headline Trump’s inaugural concert on January 20.

The Tony and Grammy-Award winning artist just completed a two month stint as “Shug Avery” on Broadway in The Color Purple.

Twitter is still clutching its pearls, and we can only imagine Holliday’s mentions will remain in shambles until the end of the month.

Twitter was also in an uproar earlier this month after Talladega College, an Alabama HBCU, shockingly confirmed the school’s marching band would participate in the inaugural parade.

Sound off in the comments below.

SOURCE: The Wrap

SEE ALSO:

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