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Nelly Breaks Silence On Backlash Over His Decision To Perform At Trump’s Inauguration

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Rapper Nelly is defending his decision to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s Liberty Inaugural Ball on Monday amid backlash from social media users.

“I respect the office,” Nelly, whose real name is Cornell Haynes Jr., said during Saturday’s episode of the “Willie D. Live” podcast hosted by rapper William “Willie D” Dennis.

“This isn’t politics. The politics, for me, it’s over. He won. He’s the president. He’s the commander-in-chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world.”

Nelly said that it’s “an honour” for him to “perform for the president of the United States, regardless of who is in office”.

“If President Biden would have asked me to perform, I would have performed. If Vice President Kamala Harris would have won and asked me to perform, I would have performed,” he declared.

After Dennis asked him directly if he is a “Trump supporter,” Nelly responded, “I support the office. I support the president of the United States, regardless of who’s in office. Regardless, I respect the office.”

“I’m not here to take up for Trump, I’m not here to take up for Republicans. I’m not here to take up for Democrats,” Nelly added.

The Dilemma musician admitted that he’s not saying that Trump “ain’t got some fucked up ways,” but told Dennis that “performing for somebody and voting for somebody is two different things.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Nelly, who said he grew up on a military base and has multiple family members who served, compared his forthcoming performance to that of military soldiers protecting their country.

“I’m not doing this for money, I’m doing this because it’s an honour. I respect the office. It doesn’t matter who is in office,” he said. “The same way that our men and women, our brothers and sisters who protect this country, have to go to war and have to put their life on the line for whoever is in office.”

Nelly added, “So if they can put their life on the line for whoever in office, I can damn sure perform.”

HuffPost has reached out to Nelly’s reps for comment.

Nelly’s comments on the backlash come after fellow rappers Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy also faced criticism for reportedly performing at Trump’s Crypto Ball in Washington, D.C., on Friday.

Watch Nelly’s interview on the “Willie D. Live” podcast below.

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