Whoopi Goldberg showed some support for Carrie Underwood on “The View” (via Entertainment Weekly) amid backlash against the “American Idol” winner and country music star for her decision to perform “America the Beautiful” during of Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20. The EGOT winner has been outspoken against Trump for years, but said she supports Underwood, even though Goldberg won’t watch the performance or inauguration.
“People do what they do for whatever reason,” Goldberg said, emphasizing that public figures have every right to navigate politics as they see fit. That was the case when MSNBC hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski met with Trump after his presidential election victory in November, Goldberg observed.
“I stand behind her,” Goldberg added of Underwood. “If I believe I have the right to decide to go play somewhere, I believe she has the same right. I have to support. That doesn’t mean I’m particularly interested. I won’t watch, but that’s just me.
“I think art is art and you have the right to perform wherever you want,” said Sunny Hostin, co-host of Goldberg’s “The View,” echoing Goldberg in adding that she had no plans to watch Underwood or the inauguration and that she had “scheduled a spa day” instead.
Alyssa Farah Griffin, who previously worked under Trump in the White House but voted for Kamala Harris in the election, chimed in, lambasting society’s talent for “canceling people’s livelihoods because we don’t like not their policy… If you have a problem, you sign up. your complaint by not downloading his songs and not going to his concerts. But I also think that from a business standpoint, it’s not a bad decision for Carrie Underwood.
Griffin added that Underwood “is going to become an icon of MAGA and the American right overnight and that she will probably “make a lot of money from” her decision to perform at the inauguration.
Underwood’s performance was announced on January 13 and she released the following statement: “I love our country and am honored to have been invited to sing at the inauguration and take a small part in this event historical. I am honored to answer this call at a time when we must all come together in unity and look to the future.
Classical crossover singer Christopher D. Macchio is also on the schedule to perform an anonymous “musical selection” just before JD Vance is sworn in as vice president.
