Grammy Performer Janelle Monáe Sounds Off on Nelly ‘Selling Out’ to Trump
The singer unleashed an unfiltered attack on the rapper after the Grammys, accusing him of “selling out.”

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy/MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
“Hot In Herre” rapper Nelly is still facing backlash from his performance at Donald Trump’s inaugural ball, this time from one of his music peers, who shouted “F--- you Nelly!” on stage at a Grammys after party on Sunday.
Singer-rapper Janelle Monáe had just taken the stage at the 67th Grammys Awards earlier that night to perform Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” as part of the ceremony’s Quincy Jones tribute. In video footage obtained by TMZ, Monáe took a different stage after the show at Andy’s in West Hollywood, where she performed Nelly’s “Hot In Herre” with a live band—prompting her to offer her unfiltered thoughts to the crowd, since she admits in the video, is a “little bit tipsy.”
#JanelleMonae roasted #Nelly at a #GRAMMYs after-party in L.A. Sunday night, blasting him for recently performing at #PresidentTrump's inauguration 👀 Details here: https://t.co/m3Ji9QOv3y pic.twitter.com/iLcbDSP13b
— TMZ (@TMZ) February 3, 2025
“I used to like Nelly but then he went to perform for Donald Trump,” Monáe said on stage, where she’d been performing alongside Andy’s owner and Grammy-winner Anderson .Paak. and freestyle rapping over the “Hot In Herre” beat. “F--- that n---a,” she went on rapping, “I care about women, I care about Hispanics, I care about Spanish people, I care about gay people,” she can be heard saying over the music.
Prior to Nelly’s performance for Trump’s ball, he denied taking the gig for the money, saying that being invited was “an honor.”
"I'm not doing this for money."
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 19, 2025
Nelly responds to backlash for agreeing to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration celebration and challenges critics to show proof that Donald Trump is a white supremacist.
(🎥 Willie D Live /YouTube) pic.twitter.com/OSJmeM47IG
Elsewhere in the interview, the rapper shot back at fans who expressed apprehension about his supporting a “white supremacist,” criticizing Joe Biden’s past policies and remarks in regard to race and asking fans to “show” him “how [Trump] is a white supremacist.” He’s since faced fan calls to stop streaming his music, along with Snoop Dogg, who also performed for Trump’s festivities and has been heavily criticized.
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Monáe’s freestyle aimed at Nelly was the harshest public rebuke from any of the rapper’s peers so far.
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“You sold out, I used to think you was cool, but now you look like a motherf------ fool,” Monáe also rapped Sunday night. “Goin’ to the inauguration to participate with some n---a who don’t give a f--- about who you feelin’. I don’t care what you really sayin’. I might be a little tipsy, but I know everything I’m motherf------ sayin’.”
She wrapped up her song with another “F--k you” as she told the rapper to “get a new attitude.”
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