Cultural Fascism: Death Threats, Racial Slurs by Liberals Force Acts to Cancel Trump Inaugural Shows

Several performers backed out of performing at Trump inaugural events after receiving death threats, racial slurs and threats of boycotts and criticism by liberals enforcing cultural fascism on the entertainment industry.

The latest to cancel, Bruce Springsteen cover band the B-Street Band, announced it was canceling a long-planned (since 2013) contracted appearance at the Garden State Presidential Inaugural Gala on January 19 in Washington, D.C. following thousands of critical emails by liberals and comments by E Street Band members.

The B-Street Band’s cancellation follows the weekend announcement by Broadway singer Jennifer Holliday who canceled her performance at a pre-inaugural concert at the Lincoln Memorial on January 19 after receiving death threats and being called racial slurs by liberals. Holliday released a groveling, self-critical public letter of apology for initially agreeing to perform.

The cancellations came as TMZ reported record labels are blocking artists from performing at the Trump inauguration celebrations.

Donald Trump’s Inaugural Committee is having trouble booking singers for the Inaugural, and TMZ has learned one of the big problems is that record labels are putting the squeeze on their artists.

Sources connected with Inauguration preparations tell TMZ … some performers have either agreed or tentatively agreed to sing at various inaugural balls but in some cases their record labels put their corporate foot down and said “no way.”

The Daily Mail reported over the weekend that blind singer Andrea Bocelli canceled singing at Trump’s inaugural after receiving death threats.

When blind tenor Bocelli announced he would not sing at this Friday’s celebration, it was widely reported it was because fans had said they would boycott his concerts and records.

But a source said the 58-year-old had been determined to ‘press ahead’ and sing but had pulled out on the advice of his security team after receiving threats to his life.

A source close to Bocelli, a friend of Trump’s, said: ‘Andrea is very sad to be missing the chance to sing at such a huge global event but he has been advised it is simply not worth the risk.”

Rolling Stone spoke to B Street Band leader Will Forte about the band’s change of heart.

Will Forte, the group’s 63-year-old keyboardist, manager, agent and publicist, among other roles, was telling the band about the “thousands of emails from both sides” he had received after news broke that the group would be playing the Garden State Presidential Inaugural Gala on January 19th as part of Donald Trump’s inauguration. “We’re standing out in the storm right here,” he told the band. “We gotta get out of the storm.”

…”We felt that we had to make it known that we didn’t want to seem disrespectful, in any way, shape or form, to Bruce and his music and his band,” Forte says. “I don’t want to upset them. We owe everything to him and our gratitude and respect to the band is imperative above all else. It became clear to us that this wasn’t working and we just had to do what we thought was the right thing to do and that was to pull out.”

The group had played the gala twice before to little controversy for President Obama and signed a contract for this year’s gig in 2013, long before the presidential nominees were decided. But this year was different.

“As time went by, the complexity of the situation became real immense and intense,” Forte tells Rolling Stone. “The band was caught in a hurricane. We didn’t see this coming, of course.”

Springsteen never weighed in on the controversy, but Garry Tallent, the E Street Band’s founding bassist, tweeted, in response to news of the B-Street band’s appearance, “Please tell me this is more fake news. Or at least a joke.” Steven Van Zandt, the group’s outspoken guitarist, tweeted of the B-Street Band, “Nice guys. Met them. I wouldn’t say right or wrong. Up to them. But it’s naive to think one can separate Art and Politics. Art IS Politics.”

The Wrap reported on Holliday’s abrupt decision to cancel.

Jennifer Holliday has canceled her appearance at Donald Trump’s inauguration event next week, calling her decision to perform a “lapse of judgement.”

In an open letter, provided exclusively to TheWrap, the “Dreamgirls” star apologized to the LGBT community, saying she was “uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans.”

The Tony and Grammy winner came under fire from some of her fans on Friday after it was announced that she was set to perform at a concert as part of Trump’s inauguration festivities.

(Excerpt of Holliday’s letter):

…In light of the information pointed out to me via the Daily Beast article on yesterday, 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!

I Sincerely apologize for my lapse of judgement, for being uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans.

Please know that I HEAR YOU and I feel your pain. The LGBT Community was mostly responsible for birthing my career and I am deeply indebted to you… 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…”

In a follow-up interview with the Hollywood Reporter, Holliday said she had been called various racial slurs and been encouraged to kill herself.

What type of feedback have you been hearing since the announcement went out yesterday morning?

It’s amazing because I’m not a person that gets a lot of attention or that seeks a lot of attention. And I’ve spent all day yesterday and all last night reading all the terrible things that people were saying about me.

And even being called by my own black people a “n—er,” a “house n—er,” “c—n, “Uncle Tom,” people suggesting I should kill myself, a “traitor,” all kinds of things. It was very frightening and very alarming and overwhelming, as well, to see those kinds of things about you. It’d be different if I’m out there all the time trying to make headlines or something.”

UPDATE: TMZ reported Monday evening that Holliday canceled after she and her family were targeted with death threats:

But we’ve learned when her agent contacted the Inauguration Committee, he said the reason was death threats. We’re told the LGBT concerns were not even mentioned.

A rep for Holliday told TMZ Monday … both the death threats and the LGBT reaction were factors in her decision.

The rep tells us, “It was all of those things. She wasn’t scared to perform. She didn’t want to put her family at risk based on the death threats and she also didn’t want to offend the LGBT community which was especially upset that a past ally would perform on a program with President-Elect Donald Trump.”

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Kristinn Taylor has contributed to The Gateway Pundit for over ten years. Mr. Taylor previously wrote for Breitbart, worked for Judicial Watch and was co-leader of the D.C. Chapter of FreeRepublic.com. He studied journalism in high school, visited the Newseum and once met David Brinkley.

You can email Kristinn Taylor here, and read more of Kristinn Taylor's articles here.

 

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