Hollywood stars publicly associating with Trump this time

While Hollywood was always biased towards liberal, the slate of names participating in Trump's inauguration weekend events has improved

WASHINGTON: Carrie Underwood might not be Beyoncé or Garth Brooks in the celebrity superstar ecosystem. But the singer’s participation in President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is nevertheless a sign of the changing tides, where mainstream entertainers, from Nelly to The Village People are more publicly and more enthusiastically associating with the new administration.

Eight years ago, Trump reportedly struggled to enlist stars to be part of the swearing-in and the various glitzy balls that follow. The concurrent protest marches around the nation had more famous entertainers than the swearing-in, which stood in stark contrast to someone like Barack Obama, whose second inaugural ceremony had performances from Beyoncé, James Taylor and Kelly Clarkson and a series of starry onlookers.

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There were always some celebrity Trump supporters, like Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Jon Voight, Rosanne Barr, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone and Dennis Rodman, to name a few. But Trump’s victory this time around was decisive and while Hollywood may always skew largely liberal, the slate of names participating in his inauguration weekend events has improved.

Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, The Village People and Lee Greenwood all performed at a MAGA style rally on Sunday. Those performing at inaugural balls include the rapper Nelly, country music band Rascal Flatts, country singer Jason Aldean and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw.

Some who have publicly criticized Trump in the past seem to have changed course. One of the highest-profile examples is the rapper Snoop Dogg, who in a 2017 music video pretended to shoot a Trump lookalike, and then this weekend performed at a pre-Inaugural event called The Crypto Ball.

When a social media user posted a video of his performance, his name quickly became a trending topic on social media with a fair amount of disbelief and outrage. There may still be a tinge of stigma, however. 

The Village People, in a statement, offered a justification for their involvement, which seems like an apology. 

Where Trump once emphasized the otherness of a Hollywood that largely shunned him, he’s now turned his attention back to the entertainment capital as a project to be saved. He named Stallone, Voight and Mel Gibson as his chosen “ambassadors” for the mission.

Following the election, celebrity detractors have also been quieter than in 2017, when nationwide marches brought out the likes of Cher, Madonna, Katy Perry, Alicia Keys and Janelle Monae. The People’s March in DC did not boast about any celebrity participants. 

At the Golden Globe Awards in early January, Trump’s name was not mentioned on stage -– a stark contrast to 2017, when Meryl Streep used her lifetime achievement award speech to decry the president-elect before his first term began.  

All of this celebrity talking against Trump and all of the celebrities going for (Joe) Biden and speaking about the future of democracy not only didn’t make any difference toward the outcome of the election, but one could argue that it actually meant that things moved in the other direction.