After several artists dropped out of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Great American State Fair this week, rapper Vanilla Ice has said he would remain on the lineup.
He told CBS News in an interview that his decision was about celebrating the U.S. 250th anniversary, not politics.
“You should do whatever you feel like doing and express yourself. That’s what music is,” CBS cited him as saying, adding, “I’d go play for anybody. Putin. Whoever. You want — I’d go to Iran. Don’t matter.”
“It’s simple as a pimple for me, there’s nothing to it. It’s the birthday of America,” he told the U.S. outlet.
“Two hundred and fifty years. It’s not anything to do with politics. I don’t know why they’re turning it into politics,” said the rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, before noting that he’s “never voted.”
“You’re just an entertainer. Don’t ever try to think you’re anything beyond that,” he concluded.
In an interview with CNN, he said he had chosen to remain in the lineup because he was “proud to be an American,” and that he was “honoured” to perform, despite “tension.”
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“It shouldn’t be that music is dragged into politics,” he said.
Global News reached out to Vanilla Ice’s management for comment, but did not receive a response.
Bret Michaels, Martina McBride, Young MC, Morris Day and the Commodores were among the scheduled acts who said they would not be appearing alongside Vanilla Ice.
Van Winkle told CBS he understood other artists’ decisions to cancel their appearances, saying they may be “scared” of social media criticism.
“For me, I’m just here to celebrate the country I was born in,” he said.
The Dallas-born performer shared an Instagram video last week expressing excitement about the upcoming celebration.
“Super honoured to do this concert with everybody,” he said, “we’re going back to the 90s, put your dancing shoes on, you’ll be happy, trust me,” he said, alongside a caption that reads: “This is to bring us all together. I’m tired of all the news channels dividing this country. We are all one. This is not a political platform. This is celebrating America’s birthday. Nothing too serious just enjoying some fun, dancing and great memories. Hope you guys can join us.”
The 16-day Great American State Fair is expected to run from June 25 through July 10.
Freedom 250, which Trump launched late last year, describes itself as a “national, non-partisan organization leading the celebration of our Nation’s 250th birthday.”
Trump appointed Keith Krach, who served as an undersecretary of state during his first term, as the organization’s CEO.
After hearing of artists backing out, Trump took to social media on Saturday and said he is considering replacing some of the scheduled entertainment with an “AMERICA IS BACK Rally” in Washington, D.C., to give a speech.
“I understand Artists are getting ‘the yips’ having to do with their performance,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
This is not the first instance of musicians cancelling appearances in protest of or to sidestep association with the U.S. president.
In December, several artists cancelled scheduled performances at the Kennedy Center after the institution added Trump’s name to the building, including The Cookers, a jazz group performing together for nearly two decades, and saxophone player Billy Harper who said he “would never even consider performing in a venue bearing a name (and being controlled by the kind of board) that represents overt racism and deliberate destruction of African American music and culture. The same music I devoted my life to creating and advancing.”
The Kennedy Center is set to close after the July Fourth celebrations for a two-year renovation project proposed by Trump.
— With files from Global News’ Katie Scott
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