Nelly, Soulja Boy, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross faced serious blowback from the rap community after it was announced they’d be participating in Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Now, Nelly has responded to the criticism during an appearance Willie D’s YouTube Show. Nelly is expected to perform at the Liberty Ball, one of three official inaugural balls, on Inauguration Day but insists it’s not an endorsement for Trump—nor is it about the money.
“He’s the president,” he said. “He won […] He’s the commander-in-chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world. That’s why I’m not telling you who to vote for. He’s the president of the United States, not the candidate for the United States. I respect the office. It don’t matter who is in office. If they can put their life on the line for whoever is in office, I can damn sure perform for whoever is in office.”
He added, “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.”
“I’m not doing this for money.”
Nelly responds to backlash for agreeing to perform at Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration and challenges critics to show proof that Donald Trump is a white supremacist.
(🎥 Willie D Live /YouTube) pic.twitter.com/OSJmeM47IG
— The Art Of Dialogue (@ArtOfDialogue_) January 19, 2025
Soulja Boy was more defiant in his response. Taking to Instagram Live shortly after his performance at the Crypto Ball on Friday (January 17), he fired back at his detractors and said it was all about financial gain for him.
“They paid me a bag,” he said. “Obama ain’t never put no money in my f###### pockets. Kamala ain’t never put no money in my f###### pockets. Trump put money in my pockets. Y’all want me to not answer the phone for the f###### president? This n#### the president of the muthafuckin’ United States. Trump wasn’t even there. It wasn’t even a Trump event. It was the Crypto Ball for crypto. And I’ll go again.”
Soulja Boy responds to the hate for performing at Donald Trump’s inaugural party:
“Obama never put money in my pockets, Kamala never put money in my pockets, Trump put money in my pockets”
pic.twitter.com/7yL9hANvOS— Daily Loud (@DailyLoud) January 19, 2025
Once again, Chrisette Michelle was dragged into the conversation. As one Twitter (X) user pointed out, “Chrisette Michele has yet to recover from performing at Trump’s inauguration in 2017. Yet, Snoop, Nelly, Soulja Boy and Rick Ross will be fine.” Another person said, “Watching Rick Ross, Soulja Boy, Nelly, and Snoop Dogg all perform at Trump’s inaugural event adds an extreme amount of validation to what Malcolm X said about some black celebrities being puppets.”
Soulja Boy later admitted to feeling deceived about the event’s nature: “I ain’t going to lie, though. Them folks did try to trick me, though. Halfway, I was like, ‘Man, f### this n#### Trump.'”
The official inauguration events are scheduled for Monday (January 20) featuring additional performances by Carrie Underwood, Christopher Macchio and The Village People.
Snoop Dogg, meanwhile, is getting absolutely destroyed on social media for his switch-up. He is the same rapper who pretended to shoot Trump in the head for a 2017 BADBADNOTGOOD video for the single “Lavender.” But after Trump pardoned Death Row Records co-founder Harry-O, he changed his tune.