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At least seven of the nine featured musical acts set to play in a concert series organized by the Trump administration<\/a> to mark the United States\u2019 250th anniversary have dropped out, within 48 hours of the lineup being announced<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bret Michaels on Friday had become the latest name to withdraw, citing a deteriorating atmosphere around the event and threats being made.<\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive than what I agreed to be a part of,\u201d the frontman of the band Poison said in a statement on social media. He added that his decision was \u201cnot about politics\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cConcerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable. Because of that, I have made the difficult decision to step away from this performance,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n The first to drop out, hours after Wednesday\u2019s announcement, was Morris Day, who called his scheduled participation in the summer concert series on Washington DC\u2019s National Mall a baseless \u201crumor\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n Later on Wednesday, Young MC posted<\/a> a message that began: \u201cI have informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom 250 event.<\/p>\n \u201cThe artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,\u201d he added, before casting doubt on the claim from Freedom 250, the group created by Donald Trump<\/a> to organize the celebration of the US\u2019s semiquincentennial, that the series was non-partisan.<\/p>\n And on Thursday, the Commodores, C+C Music Factory, Martina McBride and Milli Vanilli <\/strong>all either dropped out or expressed surprise that they had ever been booked.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Commodores will not be performing,\u201d the group said in a statement<\/a>. \u201cOur music has always been our voice and we choose not to publicly affiliate with any single political party.\u201d<\/p>\n Freedom Williams, C+C Music Factory\u2019s lead rapper, said in a video statement<\/a> apparently recorded in a bathroom that he had been blindsided by texts from friends horrified that he was \u201cdoing the Trump Freedom show\u201d and \u201cfucking with Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m like: \u2018What? What are you talking about?\u2019\u201d Williams said he replied to people \u201cI\u2019ve known for years, who know I don\u2019t fuck with Trump\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI know where I stand. I know who the fuck I am,\u201d he added, before explaining that his agent had not mentioned any connection with Donald Trump<\/a> when he pitched the show.<\/p>\n After going online to research the series on Wednesday, Williams said, he told his agent he was out.<\/p>\n Williams went on to attack Trump, saying that, as a New Yorker, \u201cI know the type of fucking anarchy he creates\u201d and bringing up the killing of Renee Good in Minneapolis by an ICE officer. But the rapper reserved his most intense anger for Democrats who threatened to cancel him if he did not drop out. Later in the statement, Williams suggested that he might still change his mind and perform with the \u201cMaga crew\u201d out of spite, even though, he said, the series was in honor of \u201c250 years of motherfucking capitalism and death. It\u2019s 250 years of straight murder.\u201d<\/p>\n Later on Thursday, McBride told fans that she wanted to \u201cclear the air\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI will not be performing at the Great American State Fair on June 25th. I was presented with an opportunity to perform at a nonpartisan event but that turned out to be misleading,\u201d the country music star said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cI asked lots of questions and was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states,\u201d she added. \u201cYesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n Milli Vanilli singer Jodie Rocco told the Associated Press that no one had even asked her or her sister Linda Rocco or anyone else in the current group to perform. \u201cMy sister and I were shocked to see our name, \u2018Milli Vanilli\u2019, as one of the performers,\u201d Rocco wrote to the AP in an email.<\/p>\n The poster for the Freedom 250 series included an image of former Milli Vanilli frontman Fab Morvan, who has been performing apart from the group.<\/p>\n At least one of the featured performers, Vanilla Ice, said in an Instagram video<\/a> that he was still in. \u201cI\u2019m super honored to do this concert with everybody,\u201d he said, on the apparent assumption that he will not, in the end, be performing alone. The rapper has performed at multiple New Year\u2019s Eve shows at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago beach club.<\/p>\n Last December, as the deadly immigration crackdown by federal ICE agents ramped up, the two leaders of the effort, Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem, were filmed singing along<\/a> with the rapper to his 1990 hit Ice, Ice Baby.<\/p>\n