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Entertainment January 17, 2017
Jennifer Holliday has revealed she was bombarded with death threats before cancelling her planned performance at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
The singer burst into tears on “The View” while explaining that haters called her “the n-word” amid other insults.
“They were saying I should kill myself or someone should kill me. I just wanted to sing,” Holliday said. “I really don’t understand.”
Holliday never expected the backlash, explaining her only reason for even considering the offer was, “Because I’m an artist and I love America.”
She has performed for four other presidents in her career, and says she assumed that both sides would just take “a ceasefire for the day.”
Things arguably had gotten out of hand with the death threats, a number of which Holliday was shocked to see had come from black people.
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“I grew up in a mixed, middle-class neighborhood in Texas and I’ve never been called the n-word,” she revealed, through tears.
The performer found the attacks to be overwhelming since “everybody was just hurling insults at me and calling me names.” She added, “I don’t see how you see through that.”
In the end, Holliday revealed it was the gay community who helped her to change her mind about the performance, citing an article from The Daily Beast in particular.
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“So they said to me, if your words are true, and you’re not a liar all of these years… otherwise, everything that you have said and done is a lie. And I’m not a liar, nor a hypocrite, and I haven’t done anything to be called names,” she says.
Co-host Whoopi Goldberg found this to be a teaching moment, scolding the President-elect for not condemning such bullying from his position of power.
“This is why I say it has to come from the top,” Goldberg says. “As long as he continues to do this, this is what he’s leading.”
Goldberg then taunted Donald Trump, noting, “Mr. Trump, if you want to see Jennifer perform, you should be watching the rest of the show.”
The comment is sure to sting for the incoming president, who has a paltry celebrity guest list for Friday’s inauguration.
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Elton John, Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry are just a few of the stars who have turned down appearances. The B Street Band, a Bruce Springsteen tribute band, also pulled out of the event.
And The X Factor UK contestant Rebecca Ferguson had said she would only attend if she could perform the historically important protest song “Strange Fruit,” which has previously been recorded by Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.
“America’s Got Talent” singer Jackie Evancho, country star Toby Keith and rock band 3 Doors Down appear to be the major talent at the event. The Radio City Rockettes will be performing as well, though theirs will be a controversial show as a few of their dancers have announced they will be sitting out.
