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Moby, Charlotte Church Turn Down Inauguration Gigs

Charlotte Church and Moby
Charlotte Church and Moby

The artists, who have both spoken out against Trump, join several others who've nixed performing for him.

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A diverse couple of artists have become the latest to turn down invitations to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration as president: Moby and Charlotte Church.

Techno musician and DJ Moby, a gay-friendly liberal who supported Hillary Clinton for president and called Trump "an actual sociopath and on the spectrum pretty close to being a psychopath," would seem to be an unlikely choice. But he posted on Instagram Monday that a booking agent had approached him about being a DJ for one of the inaugural balls. Moby found the whole thing laughable, but said he would play under one condition.

Moby, at Billboard's request, then put together an inaugural ball playlist that includes Green Day's "American Idiot," Public Enemy's "Fight the Power," Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name," Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit," and other songs he would use to make a point against Trump. British singer Rebecca Ferguson has said she would perform at the inauguration if she could sing "Strange Fruit," which deals with lynching.

Church, a classical singer turned pop-music artist, joined Moby in turning down an inaugural gig, and she "was even more succinct" in an emoji-laden tweet, The Washington Post notes.

So far, the inauguration performers include the Rockettes, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, America's Got Talent runner-up Jackie Evancho, Cowboy Troy, and Big & Rich. Andrea Bocelli canceled on performing after public outcry, and several other well-known musicians, such as Elton John and members of Kiss, have said they will not appear.

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Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.
Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.