Music

Janelle Monae Slams Nelly for Performing at Trump Inauguration

Nelly previously called performing for Trump an "honor."

Janelle Monáe in a navy outfit with a hat and chain, and Nelly wearing glasses and a black shirt with a silver necklace.
Getty/Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/Stefanie Keenan

Janelle Monáe had some choice words for Nelly after his controversial performance at Donald Trump’s inauguration celebration in January.

After the Grammys on Sunday night, Monáe stopped by Anderson .Paak’s restaurant, Andy’s, where the pair hopped on stage for a jam session. At one point, the band started playing a rendition of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” which prompted Monáe to express her outrage over his Trump performance.

“Fuck you Nelly,” she said in a clip, which was posted by TMZ.

"I used to like Nelly ... but then he performed for Donald Trump. Fuck that n***a. I don't give a fuck ... Nelly, you sold out. I used to think he was cool, but now you look like a motherfucking fool ... Fuck you n***a. You get a new attitude."

Before the inauguration celebration, Nelly said performing for Trump was an “honor.”

“If you follow what I do, this shouldn’t even be an argument,” Nelly told podcaster Willie D in January. “He’s the president. He won. This isn’t a campaign—this isn’t the RNC.”

Nelly added that he didn't perform at the inauguration "for money," and said the he respects the office of the president. “It don’t matter who is in office," he explained. "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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