John Oliver piled on Trump’s disastrous and dwindling Freedom 250 celebration concert on Sunday night.
The Last Week Tonight host mocked the event’s “stacked lineup of people that you haven’t thought about since 2009.”
The list of musical acts announced by Freeom 250, a self-declared nonpartisan organization in charge of the celebration, has been pared back after public backlash over the event’s Trump-y ties. Two-thirds of the line-up have backed out in the past week, including Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, the Commodores, Young MC, and Morris Day & The Time.
Said Oliver, “Honestly, that sounds less like America’s 250th birthday and more like the playlist at Rhonda’s 50th. The only really surprising thing about that lineup is there aren’t special appearances from the ShamWow guy and the Gushers kid whose head turned into a raspberry.”
“Now, crucially, the organization planning that event, Freedom 250, is not the same thing as the non-profit America250, led by a bipartisan board created by Congress. Instead, it’s a public-private partnership launched by the White House with some dicey elements, including the fact that for $1 million, donors to it could get access to Trump,” Oliver explained.
“And as its political slant became clear, acts who were part of that initial announcement quickly began to bail,” he continued, referring to the exodus of artists.
He went on to explain that the line-up was not exactly as it appeared from the start. “Even some of the acts currently still scheduled to play may not be the exact people you’re expecting. For instance, neither of the C’s in C+C Music Factory will be performing. It’s just their rapper Freedom Williams, who initially agreed to perform, then considered backing out, then doubled down on performing because he was so mad that people were criticizing him,” Oliver said.
Freedom Williams released an impassioned, bizarre rant on Instagram, saying that he will go ahead with his performance. “I don’t give a f--- about Trump. I don’t give a f--- about Trump’s family,” Williams said. “I know the type of f---ing anarchy he creates. But the day I let you motherfuckers tell me what to do is the day I die.”
This is just one of many public statements being made about the contentious event, ranging from its organizer to its performers to the president himself.
The Great American State Fair organization has scrambled to defend its event, with a spokesperson saying that it is “inherently nonpolitical.”
“It is a celebration of our country,” Julia Friedland, who previously worked as deputy press secretary for Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, told The Hill. “I don’t think there’s anything partisan about America being around for 250 years.”
Trump ranted about the dropouts on Truth Social, suggesting he could replace the musical performers himself.
“I understand artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance on Wednesday, so I am thinking about bringing the Number One Attraction anywhere in the world,” Trump wrote on Saturday, adding that he can be the main attraction instead: “the man who gets much larger audiences than Elvis in his prime, and he does so without a guitar, the man who loves our Country more than anyone else, and the man who some say is the Greatest President in History (THE GOAT!), DONALD J. TRUMP.”
The Great American State Fair is poised to take place on the National Mall between June 25 and July 10. Artists Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida have so far maintained that they will perform. Vanilla Ice, born Robert Van Winkle, insisted his participation is apolitical, saying that he does not vote and would perform for anyone, anywhere. “I’ll play in Iran if you want. It don’t matter,” Van Winkle said.
According to Oliver, the event organizers just got lazy.
“Even with those cancellations, there will still be things to do, because Freedom 250 is also touting attractions that will include state and territory showcases from across America, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, CEO and innovator-led conversations and demonstrations, and special screenings of the iconic films National Treasure and National Treasure: Book of Secrets, bringing a real ‘substitute teacher doesn’t give a fuck’ energy to the proceedings,” he said.
“At this point, given how everything’s been going, I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if tomorrow we got a press release reading: ‘Due to divisive politics I will no longer be attending the 250th celebration’ from the f---ing Ferris wheel,” concluded the host.
