The Commodores are the latest act to announce their exit from the Freedom 250 concert series set for Washington, D.C. next month, following the declared departures of Morris Day and Young MC from the retro-heavy bill.
The exits have followed quick backlash from fans of these respective artists after the concerts were announced Wednesday morning, with many unhappy that the musicians signed up to perform for an event aligned with a Donald J. Trump-founded organization.
“The Commodores will not be performing at the Great American State Fair,” a message posted Thursday afternoon on the group’s social media accounts said. “Our music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party. We support the betterment of all Americans.”
As with several of the oldies-oriented acts booked for Freedom 250, fans have wondered who is in these groups anymore, although it is much clearer with the Commodores than some of the others. The quartet currently has one original member, William King, who has been with the act since their formation as a Motown act in 1968; he co-wrote their 1981 smash “Lady.” (The group’s most famous member, Lionel Richie, left in 1982.)
Membership has become more of an issue in the matters of who is authorized to speak for two other acts that are still listed on the bill, and who have riven current or former members, Milli Vanilli and C&C Music Factory.
A singer claiming to represent “the real” Milli Vanilli, Jodie Rocco, told the Associated Press, “My sister and I were shocked to see our name, ‘Milli Vanilli,’ as one of the performers,” and said they had no intention of performing. Rocco and her twin sister Linda Rocco performed vocals on the original albums and have toured as the Real Milli Vanilli. However, it is not clear that they have any association with Fab Morvan, the surviving member of the male duo that was credited with the music. It is Morvan who was pictured in promotional materials from Freedom 250; he has not spoken up publicly so far.
There’s a clearer rift between different parties representing C&C Music Factory. On Wednesday night, Freedom Williams, who currently fronts the touring edition of that group, posted a heated and profanity-filled eight-minute video on Instagram in which he said that he had initially been inclined to back out of the booking, due to to the angry backlash he’d been receiving. But he then spent most of the video aiming his real ire at the online commenters who he said had no right to tell him what to do, concluding that he might fulfill the gig just to spite them, despite his own “Fuck Trump” feelings. Williams also used a lot of charged racial language as he seemed to separately upbraid both Black and white followers who took issue with his taking the gig.
Seeing Williams speak on behalf of C+C Music Factory led many fans to wonder: Whatever happened to Robert Clivillés, who cofounded the group with the late David Cole? There was an answer to that when Clivillés posted upset messages Thursday, disavowing Williams and showing some clear resentment there.
“Please be aware that Freedom Williams has done his best to misuse our name, C&C Music Factory, which means Civilles & Cole Music Factory,” Clivillés wrote on Instagram. “Freedom Williams should not be using this name to tour or represent what this group stands for. Any political or religious show or comment Freedom Williams makes regarding any shows, views or opinions… (have) absolutely nothing to do with C&C Music Factories (sic) viewpoint at all. The group stands for love and peace of all people globally and neutrality. We take the side of love and peace always. Please go to his page and vent.”
With Young MC being a solo act, and Morris Day being in clear control of the Time, at least there was no danger of misunderstanding where either of those artists stood when they yanked themselves out of Freedom 250.
Wrote Young MC Wednesday: ““I HAVE INFORMED MY AGENTS THAT I WILL NOT BE PERFORMING AT THE FREEDOM 250 EVENT. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is non-partisan, Spin magazine describes it as ‘Trump-backed.’ I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged.”
Earlier in the day Wednesday, Day had posted an even shorter message, one that did not include a mention of Trump, politics or any other specific reason for exiting the show: ““Contrary to rumors,” Day announced on social media, “Morris Day & the Time will not be performing at the ‘Great American State Fair.’” In the comments section, Day threw in an additional denial, along with an emoji of a smiling face with sunglasses, alongside the message: “It’s a No for Me.”
The rush to disassociate from the Freedom 250 concerts is reminiscent of the exodus of artists who were booked to play the Kennedy Center after the president took control of the longstanding arts institution. It also brought up echoes of several artists leaving the Rock This Country tour this year after it became popularly seen as a MAGA-leaning tour, even though there was no clear partisanship in that tour’s messaging.
The Freedom 250 events — which span not just the concert series but a whole succession of patriotic events from now through early July — have been officially declared as “nonpartisan.” But clearly many do not believe that is possible for an organization founded by Trump.
On May 17, a religious gathering called Rededicate 250 took place on the Mall, billed as “a full day of prayer, music, and testimony.” Itdrew some criticism for spotlighting primarily politicians, administration members and ministers who identify with the MAGA movement, from Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson to evangelist Franklin Graham, with a video appearance by the president.
Freedom 250 CEO Keith Krach has touted the initiative’s nonpartisan nature in discussing the events around America’s birthday. But he left no doubt that Trump was the founder of the organization.
“President Donald J. Trump pledged that our nation’s 250th birthday would be celebrated in a way worthy of our history, our values, and our future,” Krach wrote on his website. “To help realize that vision at national scale, he launched Freedom 250 — the nonpartisan organization created to lead this historic effort. I am grateful to President Trump for the opportunity to execute his vision for Freedom 250. At its core, Freedom 250 is a national movement — bringing states, businesses, organizations, and citizens together to honor our history, cherish our God-given freedoms, and help build a golden age of opportunity for the next 250 years.”
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