\n Freedom 250 is a White House organization launched by executive order to create Trump-driven alternatives to the events planned by the nonpartisan United States Semiquincentennial Commission, America250. The announced concert lineup was heavily tilted towards legacy acts like Morris Day and Vanilla Ice, and many of them share the same booking agent in Jeff Epstein of Universal Attractions. Epstein did not respond to repeat requests for comment.\n <\/p>\n
\n All of the artists who have pulled out suggested they were misled about the event\u2019s political associations. \u201cThe artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,\u201d Young MC said in a statement on Instagram<\/a>. The rapper told Rolling Stone<\/a> that the concert was a \u201cbait-and-switch.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Bret Michaels, who won \u201cThe Celebrity Apprentice\u201d in 2010 and who has been complimentary of President Donald Trump in the past, cited a similar issue. \u201cUnfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,\u201d he wrote in a statement on Instagram on Friday<\/a>. He also said that he and his crew have received threats due to his potential participation in the event.\n <\/p>\n Artists are pulling out of Trump-backed 250th concert\n <\/p>\n Young MC, Martina McBride and the Commodores are among the performers who said no to “the Great American State Fair,” events that celebrate the 250th birthday of the US by Trump-backed group Freedom 250. CNN’s Jake Tapper explains why these artists are quitting the show.<\/p>\n Artists are pulling out of Trump-backed 250th concert<\/p>\n 2:36<\/p>\n \n Not everyone has dropped out though. The \u201cIce Ice Baby\u201d rapper Vanilla Ice, a vocal Trump supporter who has performed at Mar-a-Lago several times, said \u201cI\u2019m super honored to do this concert\u201d in a TikTok video<\/a>. \u201cWe don\u2019t take anything too serious, man.\u201d The rapper Flo Rida, of the blockbuster late aughts dance hit \u201cLow,\u201d has not made a statement about whether he will still perform.\n <\/p>\n \n The infamous pop duo Milli Vanilli, also announced as part of the lineup, is in a somewhat strange position. The group won a best new artist Grammy in 1990 before it was revealed that frontmen Fab Morvan and Rob Pilatus had not sung on the recordings credited to them. Jodie Rocco, one of the artists who provided the real vocals for the group and who performs with other singers from the sessions under the name \u201cThe Real Milli Vanilli,\u201d told the AP<\/a> that she was \u201cshocked\u201d that Milli Vanilli was a listed act. Pilatus died in 1998. Morvan, however, is still expected to perform<\/a> at the Great American State Fair \u2014 with his own voice.\n <\/p>\n \n Freedom Williams, a rapper from the group C&C Music Factory, said in an Instagram reel filmed from an odd angle <\/a>\u2014 one commenter said Williams looked like he was sitting on the toilet \u2014 that he \u201cdoesn\u2019t f**k with Trump.\u201d But he said he was more irritated by people who were attempting to \u201ccancel\u201d him over his performance, indicating that he\u2019s planning to go through with it. \u201cThe day I let you motherf**kers tell me what to do is the day I die.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n Williams left the original group in the early 1990s but<\/a> acquired the trademark for C&C Music Factory in 2005. Robert Clivill\u00e9s \u2014 one of the \u201cC\u2019s\u201d and a co-founder of the group \u2014 said Williams was \u201cdisguising himself as C&C Music Factory\u201d<\/a> and that Clivill\u00e9s \u201cwas neither involved in, consulted regarding, nor have I endorsed the event.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n CNN reached out to representatives for all of the artists who were slated to perform. Many declined to comment or didn\u2019t respond. Young MC reiterated that Freedom 250 had touted itself as a nonpartisan organization when he originally agreed to perform, and that he didn\u2019t find out about its affiliation with the Trump administration until later.\n <\/p>\n \n Rachel Reisner, a spokesperson for Freedom 250, said the organization \u201cremains fully committed to delivering a once-in-a-lifetime experience that brings every corner of this country together on the National Mall.\u201d\n <\/p>\n \n \u201cWe respect the rights of any artist to make their own decisions, and our doors remain open to any performer who wants to be part of honoring 250 years of American freedom, culture, and unity,\u201d Reisner said in a statement. \u201cThere is far too much to celebrate about this great nation to let noise and division distract from the incredible moment ahead.\u201d\n <\/p>\n ![\"119985_Artists_Trump250thConcert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/119985-artists-trump250thconcert-clean.jpg\")
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