Vanilla Ice has bizarre defence for performing at Trump's Freedom 250 concert as lineup crumbles
Vanilla Ice provided a surprising defence for his decision to perform at Donald Trump's Freedom 250 concert next month.
Multiple artists due to perform at the celebration marking America's 250th birthday have dropped out, claiming they were misled regarding the political affiliation of the event.
The 16-day event on the National Mall in Washington D.C. is set to take place between June 25 and July 10 with it due to feature a concert on June 26, which promises to be 'an evening of 90s nostalgia, iconic hits, and live performances from some of the era’s most recognizable names'.
However, music stars such as Young MC, Morris Day, the Commodores and Martina McBride have all dropped out after initially being part of the lineup.
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Ice is one of the names not dropping out though and he told TMZ that he would perform his music for anyone, including Vladimir Putin.
"I'm not gonna get dragged into that,' he told the outlet. "I'm here to party with America, man. Music is made to bring people together and that's what we're here to do."
He continued: "If Biden called up and said, 'My daughter's getting married, we need Vanilla Ice,' I'd go play.
"It's not a big thing. You play for your fans. We don't get a chance to pick our fans, they pick us. I'll go play for Putin and I'll play in Iran if you want. It don't matter. There's fans everywhere. Music is not political, man. It's universal."
The singer concluded: "Everybody's opinionated and it seems like the world is like a snow globe today, it's all shaken up.
"I'm from the 80s and 90s. We didn't take all this mess so serious. Come on, man, this is a celebration of America. Don't take it so serious. We're just entertainers. Just get out, shut up and play. That's what I say."
Young MC, who was the first to announce he would not be performing at the concert, said in a statement he was looking forward to performing in the capital again at a different event which 'is not so politically charged'.
The rapper wrote in a social media post: "I HAVE INFORMED MY AGENTS THAT I WILL NOT BE PERFORMING AT THE FREEDOM 250 EVENT,” he writes. “The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event.
"And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, SPIN magazine describes it as Trump-backed. I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged."
Topics: Donald Trump, Music, US News
Callum Jones