Posted on 12/22/2016 1:56:13 PM PST by drewh
Donald Trump’s inauguration team is allegedly having trouble finding “A-list” talent to perform at Trump’s swearing in ceremony come January. The reason? “They do not want to ‘normalize’ Trump’s presidency.” Hot Air’s Jazz Shaw explains why this is a stupid idea.
[This is] yet another example of the clueless nature of the L.A. crowd. They worked as their own billion dollar army to defeat Trump, hosting concerts and fundraisers along with showing up alongside Hillary Clinton on the campaign trail. We all saw how that worked out. I’m not sure how many more whacks with the clue bat will be required before it begins to sink in. The American people don’t need to be preached to by a bunch of pampered film stars or singers when it comes to how best to run the country or what our values should be. The astounding, er… ‘success’ of Miss Sloane on its opening weekend should tell them that nobody is listening other than the liberals who were already drinking the same Kool-Aid anyway.
He’s not wrong. If celebrities choose to boycott the inauguration, they’re demonstrating an inability to live in and deal with reality. Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States whether or not Elton John and company show up at his inauguration, so doubling down on the “we don’t want to ‘normalize’ Trump” rhetoric makes zero sense. What’s more problematic about this boycott, however, is that it’s a missed opportunity for these artists to expose their point of view to millions of people who wouldn’t normally be receptive to it.
Hollywood types aren’t the only creative forces attempting to get themselves as far away as they possibly can from anyone whose last name is Trump. Artists are angry that Ivanka Trump buys their very expensive paintings and displays them in her home.
“I think there are a lot of artists that are uncomfortable now being incorporated, or leveraged, as part of the Ivanka Trump brand,” art dealer Bill Powers told Bloomberg.
Artists and dealers alike have taken to Instagram to vent their frustrations. They’re reposting with angry messages from the artists photos of Ivanka standing beside works of art.
“Underneath a photo of Trump posing in front of a painting by Da Corte, the artist wrote: ‘Dear @Ivankatrump please get my work off of your walls. I am embarrassed to be seen with you,'” Bloomberg reports.
Maybe I’m missing something, but I thought the whole point of being an artist was to express ideas, thoughts, and perspectives through a medium that others can appreciate and enjoy, even those who think differently. These artists who are embarrassed their work hangs on Ivanka’s walls aren’t interested in influencing the environment of a soon-to-be leader. They want their creations to be displayed in a safe space to be admired by only those who agree with them and sheltered from the gazes of those who hold a different view. This attitude is not just cowardly, but also dumb, as they’re making themselves irrelevant to half the country.
This is probably a good time to remind everyone of Bruce Springsteen’s 1988 performance in East Berlin, which was, according to a man in attendance that night, “a nail in the coffin for East Germany.”
“I’m not here for any government,” Springsteen said onstage just a year before the Berlin Wall was destroyed. “I’ve come to play rock’n’roll for you in the hope that one day all the barriers will be torn down.”
To Hollywood elites who have wasted no time in comparing Trump to Putin, his inauguration is their Berlin Wall. To turn down a chance to perform at this upcoming historic moment is to turn down the chance to echo Springsteen’s sentiments to a nation of people who are so bitterly divided. They should rethink their boycotts and tantrums and instead do what they do best — perform and create.
Bre Payton is a staff writer at The Federalist. Follow her on Twitter.
I thought the liberals said bullying is a bad thing?
I would not want to socialize with those a-holes anyways. Let them stay away, far away.
Skip the ‘entertainment’. Swear him in and let’s get down to business.
I don’t support *entertainers* anyways, so can’t boycott them.
I agree.
Just do the inauguration and get down to business.
Trump can’t take office soon enough for me.
It seems to me that Trump’s campaign did excellent with just canned music, and occasional live local band.
The Hollyweird blacklisters can go to hell.
Skip the ‘entertainment’. Swear him in and let’s get down to business.
Fame is a fickle, fleeting thing.
I’m more insulted being compared to an East German who can be converted to progressivism by an Elton John performance than if they just said they were afraid of being blacklisted. The first assumes that I am intolerant or uneducated, which I am neither. The second is accurate.
The Chinese Communist Party owns Hollywood now so what else would you expect from them
Honestly this reminds me of the Communist Party’s run in with Solidarity. At that time I was convinced Communism was so clearly intellectually bankrupt that it could no longer survive unless they were willing to use force internationally, which of course they weren’t.
Now I believe that the Democrat Party is equally intellectually and morally bankrupt. They will either collapse altogether or they will tear the country apart. If Hillary won, the Republic would have come to a quick end. I’m not sure if Trump’s victory means the tides will turn or if it was only a stay of national execution.
I’m fine with these dim bulbs boycotting. I can easily see one of them pulling a Hamilton just for the chance of insulting Trump.
I would rather watch any of the military bands perform. Make it a patriotic inauguration celebration!! Who needs the Hollyweird crowd?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vniBBT7nRJg
USAF Band WWII Holiday Flashback
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khQN5ylb3H0
I hadn’t thought about that. You make a good point.
Agree. We can celebrate when the swamp has been drained and filled in with cement.
Ivanka should donate the painting to a homeless shelter, take the tax credit and let the homeless destroy it.
Perhaps the artiste [Da Corte] realized he failed to change Trump's mind, and as such, he's failed artistically, and simply being a wall hanging/covering is too much of an embarrassment?
Good to see there are still some true Americans walking the fruited plains. Personally, Charlie Daniels would be an exceptional performer to see on stage. The Dixie Chicks should be put in storage as the left has done to our Confederate flag.
I find it difficult to believe that Trump doesn’t know exactly who he’s going to invite and it doesn’t include a bunch of Hollywood liberals
Speaking for myself, “making a list, checking it twice. Gonna find out who’s naughty and nice” and this conservative capitalist will decide how to spend her money for the next several years.
Lots of Country Folks will perform—Lots of Great Country and Gospel groups—Why depend on Hollywierd when you have Nashville?
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