Charlotte Church Calls Donald Trump A ‘Tyrant,’ Refuses To Perform At Inauguration, ‘X Factor U.K.’s Rebecca Ferguson Also Declines
Charlotte Church, the Welsh opera star who shot to fame in the late 1990s before she was even a teenager, has joined the ever-growing list of performers who are declining to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration. In case there was any doubt about her reasons, Church used the word “tyrant” to describe Trump in her refusal.
As USA Today reports, Charlotte took to Twitter on Tuesday to express her disapproval about being asked to perform for Trump.
@realDonaldTrump Your staff have asked me to sing at your inauguration, a simple Internet search would show I think you’re a tyrant. Bye????????????????
— Charlotte Church (@charlottechurch) January 10, 2017
Church was joined Tuesday in officially turning down Trump’s inauguration committee by another British pop star, former X Factor contestant Rebecca Ferguson.
Ferguson had said that she’d “graciously accept” an invitation to perform at Trump’s inauguration on one condition: that she be allowed to sing Billie Holiday’s famous song, “Strange Fruit.” The song is a condemnation of lynchings of African Americans in the 1930s.
It appears that the Trump inaugural committee was not willing to accommodate that request: on Tuesday she announced that she won’t be performing.
“There are many gray areas about the offer for me to perform that I’m unable to share right now, but I will not be singing.”
Charlotte Church and Rebecca Ferguson join an ever-growing list of performers who have turned down invitations to perform at Trump’s inauguration. As the Daily Caller reported in December, at the time several other big-name celebrities had also turned down invitations to perform at Trump’s inauguration: Celine Dion, Elton John, Garth Brooks, KISS, Andrea Bocelli, Katy Perry, and David Foster.
Meanwhile Jackie Evancho, another opera star who, like Charlotte Church, rose to fame as a preteen, has agreed to perform at Trump’s inauguration. The America’s Got Talent Season 5 winner agreed in mid-December to perform at Trump’s inauguration, with little fanfare, as People reported at the time.
“I’m so excited. It’s going to be awesome.”
Trump later tweeted that sales of the young opera star’s albums had “skyrocketed” following her announcement.
Jackie Evancho’s album sales have skyrocketed after announcing her Inauguration performance.Some people just don’t understand the “Movement”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2017
However, Billboard magazine later threw water on Trump’s claim, pointing out that sales of her most recent album, Someday at Christmas, did see a spike in sales that week, but also noting that holiday albums can usually be expected to spike somewhat around Christmas.
Other than Jackie Evancho, the biggest names performing at Trump’s inauguration are The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Rockettes of Radio City Music Hall. However, as reported by the Inquisitr, the decisions by those groups to perform at the inauguration have not been without controversy. Several of the dancers that make up The Rockettes have opted not to perform, as is their choice according to their contracts. Similarly, about a third of the members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir will be staying home. And one member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Janet Chamberlin, has quit the group rather than be associated, however obliquely, with Donald Trump.
The rest of the performers at Trump’s inauguration consist mainly of high school and college marching bands, including the Lil’ Wranglers of College Station, Texas, and the Tupelo (Mississippi) High School Marching Band, according to a December 30 CNN report.
Do you think Charlotte Church was right to turn down the invitation to perform at Trump’s inauguration?
[Featured Image by Chris Ratcliffe/Getty Images]
