Nelly is once again standing by his decision to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration festivities, claiming to be ahead of the curve despite facing intense backlash.
The “Hot In Here” hitmaker addressed the criticism on Monday evening (January 20), just hours before taking the stage at the Liberty Ball.
“I’ve been catching haters my whole career,” he began. “I always try to think forward and I also try to trust in myself in the sense of when I truly believe that I’m doing what’s right and I truly believe I have a plan to help get things done.”
Nelly continued to defend his performance, referencing his 2004 collaboration with Tim McGraw, which he described as a groundbreaking move that paved the way for future musical crossovers.
“I’ve been getting backlash since ‘04 when I decided I wanted to do a song with Tim McGraw,” he explained. “When I decided in 2004 when it was kinda unheard of. Now you look at some of the artists that’s come along. There’s Shaboozey. If you look at what ‘The Queen’ Beyoncé was able to do with Cowboy Carter. I did it in ‘04 when people had a lot of words to say about it. You would say that I was catching backlash then, but it was forward thinking. Because I always try to stay positive and think that what I’m doing is in the best interest of uniting.”
Nelly was not alone in facing criticism for performing for Donald Trump. Snoop Dogg, Rick Ross and Soulja Boy were also condemned by the rap community.
While Nelly did grace the Liberty Ball stage, social media users complained the livestream ended before his performance began.
Inauguration Livestream Cuts Before Nelly’s Performance
Nevertheless, clips of his performance shared by attendees have continued to fuel the online backlash. Check out his performance and the ongoing controversy below.
Nelly at The Liberty Ball 🎤 pic.twitter.com/lCx4c9G8T6
— Rachel – WRITESIDE BLONDE (@WritesideBlonde) January 21, 2025
