President Donald Trump's troubled attempt to stage a star-studded musical celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence suffered another setback Friday after three more artists pulled out, citing political tensions.
The Trump administration has announced several headliners for the Freedom 250 concert series, which will take place from June 25 to July 10 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
However, the event is going through hard times as one after another participants are withdrawing.
On Friday, glam rocker Bret Michaels and country star Martina McBride joined the Commodores and two other bands who announced their withdrawals, bringing the lineup originally announced Wednesday down to four members.
These include Vanilla Ice, C+C Music Factory, Flo Rida and the surviving member of the duo Milli Vanilli, best known for a lip-syncing scandal more than three decades ago.
Michaels, the frontman of the 1980s band Poison, known for the song "Every Rose Has Its Thorn," said on Facebook on Friday that he had made the "difficult decision to pull out of this show.".
«"My performances have never been political. They're meant to give people a place to come together, have a great time, and forget about life's stresses for a few hours," he said.
«"Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has turned into something much more controversial than what I agreed to participate in.".
In response to a question from AFP about the weapons recall, a White House spokesman said "this is not a White House event" and referred inquiries to the organizers of the 250th Anniversary of Freedom celebration.
Freedom 250 insists that it is a non-partisan and apolitical organization.
The organization bills itself as a public-private partnership working in conjunction with the White House Anniversary Task Force, which Trump created last year to organize commemorative events this summer.
But Trump has openly tried to make his mark on the celebrations, notably by staging an ultra-violent mixed martial arts fight in a specially built arena on the White House lawn on June 14—his 80th birthday.
Award-winning country singer McBride announced that she will also not perform at the Great American State Fair next month.
«"I was offered a speaking engagement at a nonpartisan event, but it turned out to be a scam," she told her fans in a post on X.
They were joined by several other performers who declined to appear or denied rumors they would perform: rapper Young MC, best known for his 1989 hit "Bust a Move"; musician Morris Day and the Time, who once collaborated with Prince; and Grammy Award-winning soul group The Commodores.
«"The Commodores will not be performing at the event," the band wrote on Instagram Thursday evening. "We support improving the lives of all Americans.".
But Vanilla Ice, best known for his 1990 hit "Ice Ice Baby," insisted on participating.
«"I'm not getting involved in that. I'm here to party with America, man," the singer told TMZ, adding that he's also willing to perform for President Joe Biden, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, or in Iran if asked.
Amid the mass exodus of performers, the Democratic Party mocked Trump's event on Friday, posting an image of the nine announced performers with an X across the five canceled acts.
By contrast, singer Bruce Springsteen, a vocal opponent of Trump who announced his return to Washington on October 3 to participate in the Power to the People festival, performed in the nation's capital on Wednesday night.
The show will feature Foo Fighters, Dave Matthews, Joan Baez, Public Enemy and other famous performers.
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