Celine Dion Refuses To Perform At Trump Inauguration Ceremony
According to TMZ, Celine Dion has refused to perform at Trump’s inauguration ceremony.
A source close to the 48-year-old star said she would not available for the January 20 event, not because she was anti-Trump, but because she was fully booked. The source said the My Heart Will Go On singer was billed to perform in Las Vegas the same day that Donald Trump was to be inaugurated as president in Washington DC.
The Caesars Palace production had penciled the superstar singer for the grand event before, but the singer had postponed the event numerous times because of her husband’s death. Celine’s fans are loyal and are known to plan their vacations to coincide with her concerts. The 48-year-old songstress has skipped high-profile events like the Oscars before, so insiders say her refusal to perform at the inauguration is nothing personal.
Celine Dion Chooses Fans Over Donald Trump Inauguration https://t.co/SO21PBEil2
— TMZ (@TMZ) December 23, 2016
Mark Burnett, co-producer on Trump’s reality hit TV-series, The Apprentice, spearheaded the effort to get Dion to perform. Las Vegas hotelier and long-time friend of Trump, Steve Wynn had allegedly promised to get the Power of Love singer to make it to Washington, but it did not work out as planned.
Stars like Garth Brooks, Elton John and opera singer Andrea Bocelli have turned down the opportunity to perform January 20, 2017. According to the Inquisitr, the 58-year-old blind opera singer was reportedly approached by Donald Trump after he attended one of his concerts at Madison Square Garden. Bocelli had agreed to Trump’s request but developed cold feet after a severe backlash on social media.
However, according to an alternative report, credited to Vanity Fair, Trump’s inaugural committee chairman, Thomas Barrack Jr. claimed the opera singer was the one who offered his services, but that he was politely turned down by the President-elect.
Andrea Bocelli fans vow boycott if he sings at Trump inauguration https://t.co/3PrQGJH7IV
— Rogelio Garcia, Lawyer (@LawyerRogelio) December 17, 2016
“The Bocellis came to him and said ‘Look, if it would be helpful to you, if you would like us to perform, we would consider it. And Donald said, ‘You don’t need to. We’re not in that kind of a framework. Thanks very much for the offer.”
The Trump inauguration committee has continued to shut down claims over struggling to find talent that will agree to perform at the presidential inauguration. As of the time of this report, the only singer that had been penciled down for the event was Jackie Evancho, an America’s Got Talent 2010 contestant. The 16-year-old would also be singing the national anthem at the esteemed gathering.
Despite her age, the teen is no stranger to performing at high-brow events. She previously sang the National Prayer and the Christmas Tree Lighting for President Obama. In an interview with the Today show, she said she was honored and looking forward to her performance in front of a big audience.
“I feel like it’s going to be a big audience, and I love big audiences.”
Other reports suggest the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Radio City Rockettes have also aligned with the Trump inauguration. However, it is not all the Rockettes who are keen to perform at the swearing-in ceremony of the “blue-collar billionaire.” A Rockette, Phoebe Pearl said she was “embarrassed and disappointed” to be associated with the 70-year-old politician, adding that some of them were going to be “performing with tears in our eyes and heavy hearts.”
At Obama’s inauguration in 2009, A-list performers lined up to perform for the first black American president and his wife. The performers included Jay Z, Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, Mariah Carey and many more. Four years later, many superstars still took to the stage again for Barack Obama in a star-studded event.
An inside source said Trump was pissed at proceedings and had hired former American Idol and Dancing with the Stars booker, Suzanne Bender to reel in top-tier talent for the January ceremony. But according to the Washington Post, the Manhattan billionaire contradicted himself in a tweet claiming that a slew of A-listers were falling over themselves to perform at his inauguration.
[Featured Image by Chris Pizello/AP Images]
