Ashanti‘s mom, Tina, has made it clear that she was not happy Nelly decided to perform at the second inauguration of Donald Trump.
In a clip from their new reality show Nelly & Ashanti: We Belong Together, Ashanti and her mother are discussing that an offer was made to Nelly for the event.
Ashanti attempts to defend Nelly’s reasoning for appearing at the inauguration, saying: “This is more about the opportunity of performing at the White House as opposed to performing for a particular candidate.”
Tina then says that “This is very emotional for me,” as she reflected on the civil rights struggle and her own father’s role in 1960s activism.
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Ashanti’s mom then urged her to speak up and voice her feelings regarding the performance, saying: “As your mom and your manager, it’s my job to make sure you can voice your opinion on what you feel and what you know.”
Nelly then appeared in the scene and confirmed that he would be performing at the inauguration.
Nelly previously defended his decision to perform at the event, saying that he was not motivated by politics.
He said: “I’m not doing this for money. I’m doing this because it’s an honor. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office. The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and put their lives on the line for whoever is in office. If they can put their life on the line for whoever’s in office, I can damn sure perform.”
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Nelly was also dissed by Janelle Monae for performing in support of the Republican.
Performing a freestyle at a Grammy Awards afterparty, Monae spat: “I used to like Nelly, but then he went to perform for Donald Trump /Fuck that n-gga, don’t give a fuck / I’m with my family and ain’t nobody gonna hate on us /I care about women, I care about Hispanics, I care about Spanish people /I care about Black people, I care about gay people.”
She continued: “Fuck you Nelly, you sold out / I used to think he was cool, but now you look like a muthafuckin fool / Going to the inauguration to participate with some n-gga who don’t give a fuck about how you feeling / I don’t care what you really saying / I might be a little tipsy but I know everything that I’m saying!”
