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- ## These 6 celebrities are refusing to play Trump’s inauguration as team scrambles to secure talent

- ## ‘This is insane’: Trump ignites online panic with ‘madman’ tweets about ramping up nuclear weapons

- ## Trump’s nuclear gambit sobers up Fox host: ‘So we’re all blown up just as we’re counting our money’

- ## WATCH: Black mother calls cops on white man who choked her son – but she gets arrested instead

- ## Harry Reid blasts ‘worthless’ DNC in blistering critique of Debbie Wasserman-Schultz

- ## ‘Pharma bro’ responds to scathing Senate findings by bragging about women and money

- ## ‘Go back wherever the f*ck you come from’: Racist Kentucky woman goes on tirade at Hispanic shoppers

- ## ‘2016 has been a big pile of sh*t’: Helen Mirren’s ‘inspirational’ Christmas message gets dark fast

- ## Jewish family flees home after conservative media falsely blame them for Christmas play cancellation

- ## Man booted off Jet Blue flight for allegedly accosting Ivanka Trump: TMZ

# These 6 celebrities are refusing to play Trump’s inauguration as team scrambles to secure talent

Tana Ganeva
22 Dec 2016 at 14:27 ET
(Photo: stock_photo_world / Shutterstock.com)
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As Inauguration Day approaches, Donald Trump’s team is reportedly having such a hard time attracting celebrity performers that the President-elect has ordered a “Hail Mary” shakeup, according to the Wrap. Susan Bender, formerly a booker for Dancing with the Stars, will now have her talents tested in the task of securing A-list talent. So far, the only confirmed performers are a 16-year-old America’s Got Talent contestant and the Mormon Tabernacle.

Which celebrities have reportedly turned down the chance to celebrate the new President-elect? Here’s a list so far.

Elton John

When a member of Trump’s transition team announced that Elton John would be performing at the inaugural, the singer’s representatives swiftly shut down his claim.

“This will be the first American president in U.S. history that enters the White House with a pro-gay-rights stance,” investment banker Anthony Scaramucci said on the BBC, according to the New York Times.

“Elton John is going to be doing our concert on the mall for the inauguration,” a publicist retorted.

Garth Brooks

Asked if he would perform at the inaugural, the country star replied with the vaguely patriotic, “It’s always about serving. It’s what you do.” But after weeks of speculation, the Wrap reports that Brooks will not be performing.

Celine Dion

Steve Wynn, Donald Trump’s hotelier buddy, reportedly pledged to deliver up Celine Dion. He failed. Dion is refusing to take part.

Andrea Bocelli

The Trump team claimed that they had turned down Andrea Bocelli, but other reports suggest the singer decided against performing on January 20th because of potential backlash and bad press.

John Legend

We don’t know if John Legend has been asked, but the singer made his position pretty clear nevertheless.

“They’re calling managers, agents, everyone in town to see who they can get and it’s been problematic,” an unnamed source told the site. “Creative people tend to reject bigotry and hate,” he told the BBC. “We tend to be more liberal-minded. When we see somebody that’s preaching division and hate and bigotry, it’s unlikely he’ll get a lot of creative people that want to be associated with him.”

KISS

When TMZ asked Gene Simmons if KISS would play the inaugural, Simmons tried to answer only to be shouted down by his wife and daughter, who yelled loud “No’s!” Once Simmons was able to speak, he diplomatically offered that the band would be touring Europe then, but his family continued making it quite clear that was not the reason.

The Wrap reports that the team is offering to pay A-listers “anything” to get them on board.

Given his successful run on Dancing with the Stars, perhaps Rick Perry can pull double duty as Inauguration performer and incoming Energy Secretary.

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