And she is telling you…she’s not going.
One day after the announcement of Jennifer Holliday’s involvement in a celebratory concert on the eve of President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing-in and Holliday’s subsequent confirmation, the Dreamgirls Tony winner has decided to back out of the planned performance. In a letter provided to The Wrap, Holliday affirmed her commitment to stand with LGBT community and apologized for her “lapse of judgment.”
Holliday, who recently concluded her return to Broadway in The Color Purple, came under fire on January 13 from members of the theater community—including fans, fellow performers and journalists—following her decision to perform. “I don’t have a dog in this fight,” Holliday told The New York Times as reactions poured in. “I’m just a singer, and it’s a welcome concert for the people on the mall.”
“Regretfully, I did not take into consideration that my performing for the concert would actually instead be taken as a political act against my own personal beliefs and be mistaken for support of Donald Trump and Mike Pence,” Holliday said in her new statement. “My only choice must now be to stand with the LGBT Community and to state unequivocally that I WILL NOT PERFORM FOR THE WELCOME CONCERT OR FOR ANY OF THE INAUGURATION FESTIVITIES!”
Holliday cited a story from The Daily Beast for drawing her attention to many of the concerns. “The LGBT Community was mostly responsible for birthing me career, and I am deeply indebted to you,” she said. “You have loved me faithfully and unconditionally and for so many years you provided me with work even though my star had long since faded. Thank you for communicating with me; I had no idea that I still meant so much to all of you.”