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The Great American State Fair, a 16-day festival in Washington D.C. celebrating the 250th anniversary of American independence, has encountered a major setback as nearly all of its scheduled performers have withdrawn less than 48 hours before the event. Originally promoted heavily by former President Donald Trump, the festival’s lineup has unraveled, leaving organizers scrambling to salvage the show.
California Governor Gavin Newsom did not hesitate to seize the moment, taking to X (formerly Twitter) to mock the event’s collapse. In a pointed post, Newsom replaced images of the announced artists with well-known villains such as Darth Vader, The Joker, and Michael Myers, joking, “Wow even Hannibal Lecter canceled!” This came as the number of artists pulling out climbed to six, with a seventh rumored to be reconsidering participation.
So far, only Flo Rida and Vanilla Ice remain confirmed to perform. The exodus began with Morris Day and The Time, who simply stated, “It’s a no for me.”
Young MC followed, citing concerns about the festival’s political ties, noting that artists were not informed of any partisan involvement beforehand. “Despite claims that the event is non-partisan, Spin magazine describes it as ‘Trump-backed,’” he said, adding his preference to perform at a less politically charged event in the future.
Other artists expressed similar reservations. The Commodores emphasized their stance of not affiliating with any political party, focusing instead on “the betterment of all Americans.”
Martina McBride revealed she felt misled, having been assured the festival was nonpartisan and meant to celebrate all 50 states. She expressed disappointment that her fans might feel she was abandoning the values reflected in her music.
Performers such as Michaels cited increased divisiveness and safety concerns, mentioning threats against their teams as a key reason for withdrawing. Meanwhile, Milli Vanilli stated they were never contacted to perform at all.
C+C Music Factory’s frontman, Freedom Williams, remains uncertain about his participation. Initially unaware of the event’s political associations, he later expressed frustration over attempts to cancel his involvement, declaring defiantly, “The day I let you… tell me what to do is the day I die… You can’t cancel me.”
As the Great American State Fair faces the possibility of falling apart, questions linger about its future and the challenges of staging politically charged events in today’s climate.