Rapper Nelly responds to backlash over performance at Trump inauguration ball: ‘I’m not doing this for money’
Rapper Nelly has responded after facing backlash for his decision to perform at one of Donald Trump’s inauguration balls on Monday (January 20).
Citing sources, CBS reported on Friday that the “Dilemma” star was set to perform at the Inaugural Liberty Ball in Washington D.C.
On Saturday, Nelly, whose birth name is Cornell Iral Haynes Jr, appeared on the Willie D Live podcast to discuss the appearance.
“We tend to sometimes make a quick… response to something that on the surface may seem f***ed up because we don’t agree…” he began his defense. “I’m not political. I’m not out here trying to tell anyone who they should vote for. This is not a campaign trail.”
He urged fans to do their own research before jumping to conclusions.
“I’m clueless on a lot of things when it gets down to it,” he said. “So what I tend to say is, yo, do your homework and make your own decisions about it.”
“But what I will say about it is that I respect the office,” he noted. “This isn’t politics, the politics for me is over, he won. He’s the president, he’s the commander-in-chief. What I would like to say is that this is the best country in the world.”
Nelly went on to discuss his upbringing in St. Louis and how his father served in the Air Force.
“If these people can give their life for the office, Nelly can perform,” he explained. “It is an honor for me to perform for president of the United States, regardless of who is in office.”
The rapper also expressed his confidence that his fans would stick by his side, even if they disagreed with his decision to perform at the ball.
“If politics is above and beyond anything other than what that person stands for, [or] what that person has done, then I apologize if I quote-unquote let you down,” said Nelly. “If you follow what I do then this shouldn’t even be an argument.”
Nelly seems to have changed his tune since 2017 when he told PageSix: “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 doesn’t surprise me as a person, he surprises me as a president because you don’t expect certain things, certain attitudes.”
Fellow rapper Snoop Dogg faced widespread condemnation from fans after he was filmed performing at the first-ever “Crypto Ball” on Friday in celebration of Trump’s inauguration.
Country icon Carrie Underwood and opera singer Christopher Macchio will perform during Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, which begins at noon ET on Monday.
The ceremony is typically held outside the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.; however, the President-elect has movedthe proceedings inside to avoid below-freezing temperatures.
According to Monday’s weather projections, high temperatures are expected to be in the low 20s, cementing the inauguration as the coldest ceremony in over 40 years since Ronald Reagan’s, which was also held indoors.
“I have ordered the Inauguration Address, in addition to prayers and other speeches, to be delivered in the United States Capitol Rotunda, as was used by Ronald Reagan in 1985, also because of very cold weather,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on Friday (January 17).
“The weather forecast for Washington, D.C., with the windchill factor, could take temperatures into severe record lows. There is an Arctic blast sweeping the Country. I don’t want to see people hurt, or injured, in any way. It is dangerous conditions for the tens of thousands of Law Enforcement, First Responders, Police K9s and even horses, and hundreds of thousands of supporters that will be outside for many hours on the 20th (In any event, if you decide to come, dress warmly!),” he wrote, adding: “This will be a very beautiful experience for all, and especially for the large TV audience!”