It’s safe to say that of the two presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton had support from a lot more celebrities than her rival and the eventual winner, Donald Trump. While many famous faces voiced support for the Democrat nominee, such as Beyoncé, Jay Z, Katy Perry, Madonna, Meryl Streep, Lady Gaga, Lena Dunham, Amy Schumer, George Clooney and Pharrell Williams, Donald Trump didn’t seem to have as many famous faces supporting him. So when it came to his inauguration ceremony, it’s no surprise that quite a few big artists turned down the chance to perform. Here are some of the stars who turned down the gig, which eventually went to 16-year-old America’s Got Talent runner-up Jackie Evancho.
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Elton John
Elton John is reportedly one of Donald Trump’s favourite musicians, though the singer made it quite clear he didn’t want to have anything to do with the inauguration ceremony. He was also annoyed when his song ‘Tiny Dancer’ was used without his permission on Trump’s campaign trail.
2. KISS
Shannon Tweed, the wife of KISS frontman Gene Simmons, revealed that KISS had been invited to perform, but they had to decline because they would be touring in Europe at the time.
3. Céline Dion
Céline Dion was one of a number of high-profile artists asked to perform at the inauguration. Mark Burnett, who was in charge of the plans for the inauguration, reportedly had Céline as one of his top choices, though when the offer was made to the singer, she refused.
4. Rebecca Ferguson
X Factor runner-up Rebecca Ferguson made it known she would perform if she could sing Billy Halliday’s ‘Strange Fruit’, a song about racism and lynching in the US. She ended up turning down the offer, citing ‘many grey areas’ about it.
5. Charlotte Church
Former child classical singer Charlotte Church has repeatedly criticised Donald Trump in the media and has likened the US president to a tyrant.
6. Jennifer Holliday
Although Jennifer Holliday initially accepted an offer to perform at the inauguration, she eventually declined after receiving a lot of criticism from her fans. She then posted an open letter to the LGBT community saying she’d had a ‘lapse of judgement’ and that she had wanted to perform to help bring the country back together after such a polarising presidential campaign.