Nelly Defends Decision To Perform At Donald Trump's Inauguration

BY Cole Blake 2.2K Views
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2024 ONE Music Festival - Day 1
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 26: Nelly performs onstage at 2024 ONE MusicFest at Central Park on October 26, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)
Nelly says he respects whoever is in the office.

Nelly discussed the backlash he's received for agreeing to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration ceremony on Monday while speaking with Willie D Live for a new interview. In doing so, he defended his decision while explaining his reasoning.

“I thought you were riding for me because I put on on for my city, I didn’t know that I had to agree with your political choices," Nelly said. "I thought it was the things you do (that count). Not the things you say should be done. If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument. He’s the president. He won." As for fans' accusations that he's only in it for the money, Nelly said: "I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this because it’s an honor. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office. The same way our brothers and sisters go to war to put their life on the line for whoever is in office. So, if they can put their life on the line for whoever is in office, I can damn sure perform for whoever is in office."

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AVONDALE, ARIZONA - NOVEMBER 10: Nelly performs before the 2024 NASCAR Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway on November 10, 2024, in Avondale, Arizona. (Photo by John Medina/Getty Images)

Despite his defense, fans on social media still aren't happy with Nelly. "As I always say, these people can only come together when hate is involved, and it's always against their own. This is crazy," one user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote in response to the interview. Another added: "This not a goood look bruh. You did better not saying anything."

Nelly Speaks On Performing At Donald Trump's Inauguration

Trump's inauguration is set for Monday, January 20, 2025. Nelly won't be the only artist performing during the ceremony. Carrie Underwood and The Village People will also be taking the stage. Due to freezing temperatures and high winds, the event has moved inside the United States Capitol rotunda rather than outside. Check out Nelly's full thoughts on performing at Donald Trump's inauguration below.

[Via]

About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.

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