{"id":4047,"date":"2026-05-30T05:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T05:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/vanilla-ice-defends-freedom-250-concert-amid-performer-exodus\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T05:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T05:32:23","slug":"vanilla-ice-defends-freedom-250-concert-amid-performer-exodus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/vanilla-ice-defends-freedom-250-concert-amid-performer-exodus\/","title":{"rendered":"Vanilla Ice defends Freedom 250 concert amid performer exodus"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F3%2F2026%2F05%2Fvanilla-ice.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261780104613\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Vanilla Ice is standing by the Freedom 250 concert celebrating America\u2019s milestone birthday after <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/entertainment\/freedom-250-concert-festival-artists-backing-out-lineup\/\">several performers pulled out this week<\/a>, saying \u201cmusic is not political.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rapper confirmed Friday that he\u2019ll still perform at the President Trump-affiliated Freedom 250 Presents: The Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., as Martina McBride, Bret Michaels and other artists abruptly dropped out of the lineup.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m here to party with America, man. Music is made to bring people together and that\u2019s what we are here to do. And we\u2019re just gonna represent the \u201990s,\u201d the \u201cIce Ice Baby\u201d hitmaker told <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/05\/29\/vanilla-ice-addresses-freedom-250-artist-cancellations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">TMZ<\/a>.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Vanilla Ice confirmed he will perform at the President Trump-affiliated Freedom 250 concert after several acts pulled out. <span class=\"credit\">Instagram\/Vanilla Ice<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 58-year-old, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, argued that the event is about <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/28\/opinion\/rediscover-american-pride-and-patriotism-on-the-250th-anniversary\/\">celebrating the country\u2019s 250th anniversary<\/a> rather than politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t even vote, so I don\u2019t even care. If Biden called up and said, \u2018My daughter is getting married, we need Vanilla Ice,\u2019 I\u2019d go play. It\u2019s not a big thing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cYou play for your fans. We don\u2019t get a chance to pick our fans, they pick us. And I\u2019ll go play for Putin and I\u2019ll play in Iran if you want, it don\u2019t matter. There\u2019s fans everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMusic is not political, it\u2019s universal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Vanilla Ice also brushed off criticism surrounding the event and the artists who have decided not to participate.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The rapper, 58, said he would even play for Putin or Biden and that \u201cmusic is not political.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Instagram\/Vanilla Ice<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cCome on, enjoy the dancing. Don\u2019t take it so serious. We\u2019re just entertainers, man,\u201d he said. \u201cI don\u2019t think anybody should take this serious, including them.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think everybody should just go dance. It\u2019s just music, what\u2019s the big deal, man? We\u2019re just entertainers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The rapper has <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/01\/01\/us-news\/dhs-chief-kristi-noem-rocks-out-to-ice-ice-baby-at-mar-a-lago-new-years-eve-party\/\">previously performed at Trump\u2019s Mar-a-Lago resort<\/a>, taking the stage at the Palm Beach, Fla., club during a New Year\u2019s Eve bash at the end of last year.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The Great American State Fair will take over the National Mall in Washington, D.C., from June 25 through July 10. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Vanilla Ice echoed the sentiments <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DY5RUsAp43x\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">in an Instagram video<\/a> Thursday, saying he was \u201chonored\u201d to be part of the celebration.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerica is turning 250. Come on, man. Let\u2019s go,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re gonna bring back the \u201990s. Put your dancing shoes on.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s all about enjoying the great times of 250 years, man. George Washington until now, all the presidents and everybody in between.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Freedom 250 was launched by President Trump to lead \u201cthe celebration of our Nation\u2019s 250th birthday.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Samuel Corum \u2013 Pool via CNP\/Shutterstock<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>He captioned the post: \u201cHappy birthday America 250 years. It\u2019s gonna be an epic party. This is to bring us all together.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is not a political platform. This is celebrating America\u2019s birthday. Nothing too serious just enjoying some fun, dancing and great memories.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>His comments come after several acts announced they were withdrawing from the Freedom 250 concert following this week\u2019s lineup reveal.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-full\"><figcaption>Martina McBride dropped out of the concert, claiming the event for America\u2019s 250th was \u201cmisleading.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Country singer Martina McBride exited the event one day after being announced, <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/29\/entertainment\/martina-mcbride-quits-freedom-250-festival-meant-to-celebrate-americas-birthday\/\">calling the promotion surrounding the concert \u201cmisleading.\u201d<\/a> Bret Michaels, Young MC, Morris Day &amp; The Time and The Commodores have also backed out.<\/p>\n<p>Still on the bill are Vanilla Ice, Flo Rida, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli\u2019s Fab Morvan.<\/p>\n<p>Freedom 250 was <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2025\/12\/31\/us-news\/washington-monument-to-glow-on-new-years-eve-to-kick-off-americas-250th-anniversary\/\">launched by Trump last year<\/a> and describes itself as a \u201cnational, non-partisan organization leading the celebration of our Nation\u2019s 250th birthday.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Freedom 250 concert is part of the Great American State Fair, a free festival that will take over the National Mall in Washington, D.C., from June 25 through July 10.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/30\/entertainment\/vanilla-ice-defends-freedom-250-concert-amid-performer-exodus\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Vanilla Ice is standing by the Freedom 250 concert celebrating America\u2019s milestone birthday after several<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/vanilla-ice.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}