And I’m Telling You…I’m Not Understanding Jennifer Holliday and Inauguration

Theatre fans were most-assuredly shocked to hear that Jennifer Holliday will be singing at the inauguration ceremonies of President-elect Trump. Regardless of your political leanings, one has to admit that Ms. Holliday is her own person and that she will make her own artistic decisions as she sees fit. Will her performance affect her popularity? That remains to be seen, but by the outcry on social media, it appears that she will take a bit of a hit from many of the people who make up her fan base.

To be fair, how do we know that Miss Holliday doesn’t need the money or exposure that such a performance like this would most-assuredly provide? We don’t know her reasons for agreeing to do this, but let us at least entertain the thought that she gave this careful consideration before she decided that she wanted or needed to do this. Does is make me any more of a fan knowing that she’s performing to celebrate the rise to power of one of the most unstable and despicable human beings to ever hold the office of POTUS? No, it doesn’t.

And I am telling you…I’m not understanding why an abused minority and a member of a disenfranchised gender would want to sing at an event celebrating a man who has clearly shown he hates minorities and women. But, I also have to believe that America is still (at least for now) a free country where we can perform for whomever we like and for whatever reasons are relevant to us.  Let’s not start behaving like Trump supporters. If you aren’t happy with her choice, don’t tune in to the inauguration ceremonies and demonstrate your opposition to what she is choosing to support. My suspicion is that most of us who care whether-or- not she is at Trump ‘s side weren’t planning on watching anyway.

What disturbs me is the way many people are attacking her talents over social media, calling this Tony-winning actress with a voice that explodes “D-level” and “washed-up”. She is neither, and has proven, time-and-again, that she is worth the price of any ticket. Let’s keep the discussion focused on the question at hand: will singing at the inauguration hurt her career in any way? She wouldn’t be asked to sing at an inauguration if she hadn’t already proven her abilities. The choice to hate what she is doing is yours to make and/or support. Let’s not, however, diminish the reasons why we love her in the first place. Your voice will be heard when record sales or ticket sales drop.