Jennifer Holliday, who just concluded her stint in The Color Purple on January 8, is set to sing at an inaugural celebration for President-elect Donald Trump.
The Tony and Grammy-winning Dreamgirls star is among the performers announced by the Presidential Inaugural Committee for the Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration, which will take place on January 19 (one day before the swearing-in ceremony) at the Lincoln Memorial. The lineup also includes Toby Keith, Jon Voight and 3 Doors Down.
Holliday, known for her performance as Effie White in Dreamgirls, was the third and final actress to play Shug Avery in the Broadway revival of The Color Purple. She had last appeared on Broadway in Chicago. She received a Grammy for her pop cover of the Dreamgirls anthem "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)" and has released a number of gospel and R&B albums.
Update: Despite previous reports that Holliday is not yet confirmed to be a part of the event, the singer and actress has told The New York Times that she plans to accept the offer to perform. "I'm singing on the mall for the people," she said. "I don't have a dog in this fight—I’m just a singer, and it’s a welcome concert for the people on the mall.” Holliday, who said she voted for Hillary Clinton, continued: "[The initial announcement] brought a lot of threats from people already saying I'll never work again. If that's what America has come to, where we all hate and bully people, there's no freedom of speech."