Young MC withdraws from Trump 'Freedom 250' festival
Young MC has joined Morris Day in announcing he won't be performing for the Freedom 250 concert which was announced all of 12 hours ago. I've been working concerts since 1996 and this is one of the strangest things I've ever seen. It's looking very much like the talent buyer lied to the artists.
Just an FYI since this is going around now, these shows are small concerts on the mall, each on a different night. I don't know if there will be a bigger stage elsewhere, but these weren't intended to be huge draws.
My assumption was that they just told Grok to make a poster and this was what it came up with.
are these guys back doing talent bookings?
Never fear - kid rock and Lee Greenwood are always available since they have nothing better to do. Maybe the Village People could sing Trump’s favorite handjob song too 😏😂
Yeah, like "They would get payed." 😉🤣
That's why I've always insisted (both as a tech and talent) explicit details in a contract... I've seen bands pull out before for various reasons, heck for one show we had TWO bands we teched for and only one would perform in case the lead singers wife went into labour! (she did the next day!)
"Young MC has joined Morris Day in announcing he won't be performing for the Freedom 250 concert which was announced all of 12 hours ago." Seriously, this will be a Kid Rock & Ted Nugent concert. No fucking real musician will perform for a country run by the orange turd
They found out who the client was and then realized they were going to get stiffed on pay.
If you google the "Freedom 250" label they've put on this event, the main thing you see is Kid Rock's eponymous tour. It's just barely conceivable they agreed to do an open-air festival on the mall - already pretty disqualifying given the context - then realized it would share branding with that.
I was kind of surprised to see some of the people who were willing to do a concert for Trump. Good to know they were probably misled.
So he decided to bust a move and cancel?
The rest of the performers should follow suit. There's nothing to celebrate here. If the artists want to do something worthwhile, they'd give a free concert at the protests happening now, and in the future, in front of Trump's Concentration Camps.
you could say that the Time has run out he he ha ha
OK so I’m sure that some of these artists will perform, like vanilla ice, but wouldn’t it be funny if everyone on that list canceled?
It would be even more fun if some of the artists did show up but refused to play
Happy to see this. Commodores! Your turn…
My drunk go to song is once again safe
Milli Vanilli! Not only no longer a duo (one of them died a while back), but also a one hit wonder from the early 90s not hear from since. Couldn't even get actually famous right wing music acts for this.
what the shit is this timeline
The talent buyer lied to the artists to get them to perform at Trumpenfuhrer's party? Who could have seen that coming?
That Milli vanilli is on the bill was the first thing that made me go hey wait a minute..
I was surprised by Martina McBrides inclusion - Her hubby, John, owns probably the greatest recording studio in the world - I really don't think she'd want to taint that legacy by 'supporting' the orange idiot.
Glad I can like Bust a Move again!
Considering the 'buyer' is Trump, this is merely good sense. They are guaranteed to not be paid, and to lose fans.
So now it’s just Milli Vanilli Ice. 🎶
No. The talent buyer lied to the hosts
Damn, I just looked this up, and came away from it learning only about just how big of a trashy pig Freedom Williams is.
Lee Greenwood will be headliner, AGAIN. He's headliner for every MAGA-GOT "LOSER" CONCERT
The ghost of Prince visited Morris expeditiously and said absolutely not.
One of the remaining acts is country singer Martina McBride whose hit “Independence Day” is about a mom burning down their house to rid the family of an abusive father. Just sayin’ … 🤷♀️
Not one true black person should celebrate over 250 continuous years of slavery bigotry hatred toward nonwhites. NONE
yep, looks like a lot of information was left out when this was booked.
I was kind of shocked to see that yesterday wouldn’t think Morris Day would be involved with that
Very very very relieved to hear this. I was shocked and disappointed to see their names in the lineup.
Well done Young MC. 💙 Please don't support child rape.
Any artist who signs up for this (except the comedy acts of Milli Vanilli and Vanilla Ice) will be shooting their career in the face like Kristi Noem shooting her puppy. Hats off to Young MC and Morris Day.
This concert is like the cassette bin at the record store — they get it. Things that make you go hmmmmm… C&C is jump the shark dead to me.
Good, because we all just ripped Morris Day apart. Prince would die. Again.
"Contrary to rumor" is a weird statement from Morris Day. an official announcement is more than a rumor?
This show will end up being Kid Rock and the banjo player from Deliverance.
Now think about the lineup a Democrat in the White House could have pulled.
Conservative Fyre Fest going great
Folks who travel to DC for any Trump event deserve what they get.
Pilatus's (vanilli) died from a drug overdose in 1998.
Glad to hear it. Young doesn’t need a check that bad. Probably not the last one to pull out. I hope they are left with Milli Vanilli, Vanilla Ice and Brett Michaels Fraudsters, a one-hit wonder and a has been Feels fitting
It's also looking like AI designed the poster and this is the first any of the (currently alive and still active) artists heard of it.
At the rate artists are cancelling, Martina McBride is going to have a long day.
I started in ‘99, and you’re right. It looks very similar to that Kid Rock festival that was supposed to happen this summer too, with multiple artists canceling within hours of the dates being announced.
seems like the concert booker got shot down cause they’re overzealous
Update more performers pull out of the concerts #TrumpFiles fna #EpsteinFiles #MelaniaFiles
One has to wonder…will we still be at war while this month long “celebration” is going on? Somehow, that seems obscene, or is it just me?
That’s what it looks like. Expect more to bail. www.hollywoodreporter.com/music/music-...
looks like kid rock will get a long set.
Another update y'all. While you're here, check out my newsletter in my bio 😉 bsky.app/profile/jaso...
Pretty soon its performers will be down to the only wedding band in DC that doesn’t have a gig that day.
They would have to. Freedom 250 is/will be toxic.
I’m sure somebody else has posted it here but Prince wrote, and The Time recorded, a song called “Donald Trump, Black Version” almost 40 years ago. It’s on the Pandemonium album, which rips.
Did I miss Nikki Minage’s name on the poster?
My bet is they announced the performers without confirming their commitment hoping to force them to participate.
Gonna be about as popular as that "alternative" KId Rock event was.........
I’m pissed at both of them because they were on there in the first place. Then again, Morris Day has always ridden on others’ coattails for his career.
Republicans lie constantly. People continue to not notice until it bites them.
I swear somebody just grabbed a state fair lineup from the 90s and published it.
Rich people are going to watch men beat each other up for trumps birthday. Sound familiar? The Fall of Rome ended the same way.
I hope they get a tour out of this, I'd pay good money for a Morris Day/Young MC gig...
According to him they were never told it was a political event attached to Trump They were roped into it He just thought ‘DC, that should be a good crowd’
When even Milli Vanilli opts out - you just know things are seriously fucked
Everything about Freedom 250 is just another Trump grift. My kid just got back from a Memorial weekend class trip to DC. She usually doesn’t pay a lot of attention to that sort of stuff in public, and even she said everything about it felt cheap and they didn’t even attend anything specific to it.
Props to Morris! Prince would be proud.
Thank God! 👏👏I was sad to see he was performing. It tainted my memories of him. So happy now😂🎉
Of course they lied. It’s all they got.
Plus Milli Vanilli is short one person.
Not sure how anyone could sell the words Trump with bipartisan with a straight face. Good for MC. Hope more follow.
No one wants to go see a bunch of Magadonians, well, not anyone with a lick of sense. And the artists dropping out were evidently lied to. Meanwhile Overaged Stone is pi$$Ed he wasn't invited to perform, especially since he & Fatso from Mag-a-Lardo are so close. LOL
At nearly 200 years we peaked, then Nixon/Agnew, Reagan, Bush x2, tRumpstein x2. Now we are at our lowest. Weak justice, spineless politicians, corrupt executive, and people cheering it on.
the number of things about this fiasco that are utterly on-brand is growing by the minute.
The talent buyer lied to the artists? This surprises no one.
That line up sounds like someone who hasn't discovered music continued after 1999. Vanilla Ice?
I was shocked that The Beach Boys featuring Mike Love and Terri Nunn weren't on the bill.
It's so on brand for the Trump administration to lie and exploit other people with no shame and expecting no consequences.
Who the hell wants anything to do with celebrating America right now? Not me!
Surely you can't expect them to be able to sign up any REAL talent with the truth, can you?
I hope C+C Music Factory doesn't cancel, 'cause I already booked my hotel.
Didn't that also happen with the now canceled Kid Rock and friends concert? First of all, Kid Rock doesn't have any friends. Second, MAGAts think friendship is beta and feminine anyway. Last, no good music has ever come from the MAGAsphere.
Good on him, but I really wanted to hear him sing "c'mon,fatso just bust a move."
Is it possible they just created the list and never asked a single act? Omnipotence knows no bounds until, well, boundaries.
It’s not hard to imagine why they are fleeing = 🧐 Hum who should I side with a man named TRUMP and his posse who will promise but then fail to pay me my earned salary while also tanking my future prospects OR be on the right side of history and keep my integrity + future intact?!
Or, that they announced everything that was “going” to happen because they’d thought about it, or everyone that was automatically going to say yes because he’d asked. 😂
Beautiful....Finally Young MC USC education kicked in
Article I read earlier stated NONE of the ‘pronounced’ performers have independently confirmed - besides these two acts formally declining. #ETTD Now! Who all wants to buy a $999 drumpfstein phone?!
I am going to lose my mind over the number of people with zero concert industry experience insisting all of the artists knew what this event was. Reality: Buyer to agent: "I'm looking for an act in DC in June. Availability?" Agent to artist: "I got you a gig in DC in June." Artist: "ok"
I am sure if Toby Keith was alive, he'd be right there.
Next to cancel is the mythical Milli Vanilli! What a bill!
We truly are living in the stupidest time.
Thank you for seeing the light on this one, Morris Day!!!
as a low level local musician I can say we are lied to at every opportunity. By the time you figure out who is honest and who lies we are at retirement age.
‘Power to the People’ concert vs. ‘Freedom 250.’ Oh, I wonder which one will have a bigger crowd. My money’s on Power to the People — and it’s not a risky bet. thelistwire.usatoday.com/story/entert...
I'm supposed to take part in an event in DC that was originally scheduled for Flag Day, but we moved it up to the 13th, for...reasons.
Thank God because I was really concerned and saddened but hope more if not all will join!
Young MC says he’s backing out of the “Freedom 250” event after learning it was tied to Trump-backed organizers. In a statement, he said artists were “never told about any political involvement” and that he hopes to perform in D.C. soon “at an event that is not so politically charged.”
Dude busted a move outta Freedom 250.
Morris Day and the time backed out as well. Thank god.
They can get Baio to perform songs from his album
Morris Day and The Time have also backed out of this.
Maybe john voight could do a dramatic reading from Mein Kampf . Is he still alive ?
Wouldn't be surprised if this regime lied to all artists' representation when setting up this event. Seems to track woth everything they do
If only we all lived so ensconced to not know exactly what an event, called freedom 250, at the Whitehouse, Would be.
Milli Vanilli 😂 Frauds for a fraud. Hard pass.
Time to thaw out Lee Greenwood
How could he NOT know it was a partisan event??? He only backed out when he saw how bad the optics were for him.
I'm sure Kid Rock can fill in. LOL
There was a time it would have been an honour for any artists to participate, and many “A” listers would have joined…
I call shenanigans. Dude. There is NO WAY IN HELL they didn't run it by you before your name was attached. And if you saw the location as "White House Lawn. DC", did you think it wouldn't be "partisan"?
Everything Trump does is only about Trump. cbwrong.blogspot.com/2026/05/it-a...
Young MC shouldn't have to use spaces when he tweets ..
Southern Collegiate Athletes!!! I hope you are getting the drift!!!
Respect. Also Dana is not doing this for free. He had Trump deregulate betting that is estimated at $100m profit to the UFC. While more and more become addicted to gambling.
Or you could stand up for something.
The same people who "built" January 6th got the contract for this.
Commodores- it’s your turn now!
Morris Day and the Time have also backed out. Maybe Trump just found out these acts are black artists.
I hope The Commodores back out. I will forever hear their music differently, if they don’t.
Dana pays $60M for a White House octagon, loses $30M, gets gambling deregulation worth hundreds of millions in return — and taxpayers unknowingly cover the security bill. Shortest con in UFC history.
Good for him for backing out, but seriously anybody who doesn’t think that it’s backed by a bunch of racist oligarchs isn’t paying attention🤨
People are giving him shit for backing out? Really? This kind of shit drives people into the arms of the right.
But he had agreed, knowing it was a Trump production. Still trash
YOUNG MC: “.. I HAVE INFORMED MY AGENTS THAT I WILL NOT BE PERFORMING AT THE FREEDOM 250 EVENT. .. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event.” @variety.com variety.com/2026/music/n...
Something tells me there’s going to need to be an extended Kid Rock set
He busted a move 😎
Young MC drops out of Trump’s Freedom 250 event, suggesting he and artists were deceived by Freedom 250 organizers. Begs the question: What were corporate sponsors of Freedom 250 told? Sponsors include Mastercard and United Airlines. bsky.app/profile/carl...
I figured this when Morris Day immediately said he wasn’t playing. It all sounds very sketchy, which is hardly surprising given that it’s the Trump regime.
Young MC isn’t a sucker MC.
Kid Rock is available. He's always available.
That's great, though I was looking forward to seeing Stephen Miller getting down to Jungle Love.
this makes me unreasonably happy
Something tells me this list will get smaller.
I'm grateful to hear that Young MC and Morris Day are bailing on the event. Shame on those who are still going to play American NaziFest 2026.
This just goes to show you that many people are very uniformed about what is going on. This is worrisome. What else are they unaware of?
"the newly announced patriotic series, an outgrowth of an Independence Day initiative tarted by the Trump administration" Not sure if "tarted" is a typo for touted, but it works for me.
Another Trump project gone wrong...
Getting rejected by Wednesday night casino acts
C+C Music Factory doesn't care what you think lol.
Self respect is a good thing
Do they live under a rock? They weren't informed?
Rob Schneider BEGGING Sandler to back him up on guitar for a set at this thing. Just copying / pasting most of the texts he sent begging to be added to the Saudi Comedy Festival.
The money was not worth the pushback. I wo der who else will bail.
The original full line-up isn't even managing D-list status.
Like a musical version of Kind Hearts and Coronets where Kid Rock cosplays ALL the slots, and it’s ALL shit
Amazing, they were lying to people and this was still the best lineup they could muster
Cue Kidd Rock to fill in.
Good for them, but I find it difficult to believe that they had no awareness of the political climate before accepting the gig. I mean really? Everything Trump is a MAGA hot potato. I think they caught backlash from fans then bailed…
Flo Rida AND the Commodores?
I just want to say that I don't think you should get to call yourself "Young MC" if you're old enough to join AARP.
Good I'm not sure why any artist would want to participate in a tone deaf president's celebration
It is likely that the Regime rep who is in charge of booking this assault on America left out such details (lied) when shopping for artist (suckers) to perform (be a political prop for Felon47)
Looks like he...busted that move
💀💀💀 "Exodus as stars pull out of Trump-linked 'Freedom 250' festival: 'Artists never told'" I knew Morris Day and the Time and Young MC would never do that shit. They were never even booked. 😂 Sad. Maybe, we can have Lee Greenwood sing "Proud to be an American" on a loop. Be best!
Veering, but Kennedy Center was telling a judge that Trump needs his name kept on it or people won't perform at the same time nobody will perform there... REALITY CHECK!
Wow! Even Milli Vanilli said to fuck off (or rather, they lip-synced it).. Who's next out?
They'll have Kid Rot screeching in the microphone, Chachi arm wrestling Sylvester Stallone while singing take me home country roads, and Ted Nugent will stab a live pig on TV and roast it with a match, and RFK Jr eats a live snake and snorts cocaine off of porta potty seat.
Carrie Underwood and Kid rock are on stnad-by
It's difficult to be proud to be an American after everything that Trump has done 😞 Real talk 💙
Even the Love Boat guy shouted out to them I've read that The Commodores and Flo Rida will still perform
www.youtube.com/watch?v=627Q... THIS GUY would perform for Trump? Fuck no. He is wayyy too cool
Time is a friend. Time is a foe. We're so very foed up at this point. November is likely to be the barometer of any near-future change. People desperate to maintain power will use absurd & desperate measures.
Kraznov mentioned that they have drugs that bring people back to life so I expect we'll see Toby Keith signed on last minute. Who knows maybe even Hulk Hogan too. Now that would be a freak show. I am sad that Rob Ritchie's name isn't on the list..🙄
No! Wait! It'll be the Lara Trump Comeback Tour! Featuring her new hit, Born In The USA. And Kimberly, too! She can do her Greek Dance routine. After all, the Best! Is Yet! To Come! Oh, no! Is it? Could it be? No way!!! It's Rapper B, Baron Trump, with his alter ego, Damien Da Devil, w/ his hit
Why isn’t his white trash buddy Kid not on the list?
Oh, that news about Morris Day and the Time makes me happy and relieved.
"Oh, so there's an open slot?"
This tracks. I would be surprised if Commodores don't pull out as well.
No Ted Nugent or Kid Rock? Could they not post bail in time? 😏
Isn't Ted Nugent available? 🤣
😂 and Bahwitabah from Kid Asshole Rock.
I'm sure Kid Rock will be the headliner.
It will be kid rock and Ted Nugent 😅😅😅 .
The lineup for the National Mall event continues to shrink as artists back out
The Commodores are now out as well
Be pretty funny if it just ended up being Vanilla Ice every day all day playing the hit
Are they "backing out," or saying that they never agreed to participate -- or were never even contacted?
A gig too problematic for Milli Vanilli.
They’ll be down to the Trump Family Singers at this rate.
Ivanka putting together the list:
C+C Music Factory frontman Freedom Williams, said he was not informed of the Great American State Fair's affiliation with Trump: "[My agent] didn't mention Trump. ... 'We're going to cancel C+C Music Factory. "So, I told my agent, 'Yeah, no, I ain't good to do that. I don't [support] Trump."
Wait ... the Vanilli peeled off?
By next week, we will need to have to settle for listening to a recording of "Tiny Dancer" for days on end instead.
I don’t think they’re backing out… I think it’s quite literally they were never confirmed or even asked to perform in the first place.
Not sure which is funnier, that Milli Vanilli was invited in the first place, or that they backed out.
There was a Vanilla Ice concert at a bar just off campus when I was in college, well into the “actually kind of sad” portion of his career. I didn’t go, but somebody threw a plastic bag full of urine onto him when he was on stage, and then a fight broke out and basically everybody got arrested.
what, no kid rock? wow… just…wow. and here i thought we were celebrating AMERICA.
the commodores? damn. that’s like finding out that ludwig van beethoven is still touring
YOUNG MC!!! YOUNG MC!!! DON'T BUST THAT MOVE!!!
I'm kind of shocked at Flo Rida, well not really but Vanilla Ice is probably going to have Mikey from TMNT on stage with him
This is a worse lineup than the Iowa state fair
He will be too busy wrestling RFK in the ring while they are only wearing jeans.
One of Milli Vanilli killed himself. I forget if it was Milli or Vanilli. The Trump team probably hired them for their whiteness like Vanilla Ice. And Young MC stands for young MAGA Cunt (I never used that word until I watched "The Boys.")
If you think about it, tho, this is a perfect lineup for the MAGA base (so old and out of touch that they haven’t listened to a single new song since 1989 other than to complain about it and/or listen to their favorite Fox News demon complain about it)
I’m sorry - Vanilla Ice and MILLI VANILLI?!!??
surprise guest, drops in via Apache
This isn't even the real fake Milli Vanilli. One of the two guys died of an OD in 1998. I mean.
He’s too busy directing the pentagon to move into Cuba
Kid Rock probably raised his rates after popping out with RFK a couple times
Village People? Did they get YMCnubbed? I retract what I said about Young MC, and put it on the other assholes who are still performing.
Morris Day and the mf Time. Oh-wee-oh-wee-oh
Wow, we’ve lost all the Vanills.
that's the surprise guest that's going to fly in on the back an eagle/missle it's an eaglemissle and it's on fire and it's gonna bring the crowd to its roaring feet when he lands, and screams a bunch of racist shit at all the other performers #faith
Young MC has dropped out of Trump’s Freedom 250. He suggested he was deceived. Were corporate sponsors of Freedom 250 — including Mastercard and United Airlines — told about Freedom 250’s political involvement? Were they told about Freedom 250 Christian nationalist Rededicate 250 event?
Corporate sponsors of Trump’s Freedom 250 include Mastercard, Scotts Miracle-Gro, and United Airlines. 11 senators led by Sen Schiff launched an investigation into Freedom 250, demanding answers about allocation of $100 million in taxpayer dollars and a pay-to-play scheme. www.ms.now/news/news-an...
The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump's Freedom 250 may have "confused" corporate executives, asking them to sponsor the White House-backed hijack of America's birthday. No one from corporate sponsor companies of Freedom 250 has responded to inquiries, including Mastercard and United Airlines.
Maybe they are all confusing Freedom 250 with America 250?
big fan of how the Republicans weren't left with many options and announced the most lackluster, has been musical bullshit selection you've ever seen in your life, only to have half of them drop out almost immediately after the announcement
there's already been at least 3 who dropped off of this since the announcement lol i'm just editing the poster for it each time another one is like "wtf, no i'm not" & replacing them based off speculation alone
By the weekend, the only thing left will be a meet-and-greet with Bret Michael’s wig.