Vanilla Ice Stands By Freedom 250 And Says He’d Perform For Any Audience

As more artists continue to withdraw from the Freedom 250 concerts, Vanilla Ice has remained committed to the event, saying he would "play for anybody", including Vladimir Putin and Iran.

The celebration is set to run from June 25 through July 10 at the National Mall in Washington, DC, marking the 250th anniversary of the United States.

Organisers have promoted the gathering as a "once-in-a-generation celebration" designed to "unite and showcase all 56 US states and territories in a single World’s Fair-scale event". Despite that messaging, the festival has faced mounting criticism in recent weeks as several performers have chosen to step away.

The original roster featured Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, Flo Rida, Poison singer Bret Michaels, The Commodores, Young MC, Morris Day & The Time, C+C Music Factory and others.

Soon after the lineup was announced, however, Morris Day & The Time withdrew from the event. Young MC, Bret Michaels, The Commodores and Martina McBride also exited. Many of the artists claimed they had been led to believe the event was politically neutral, only to later learn that it had ties to President Donald Trump.

Vanilla Ice, on the other hand, remains scheduled to perform. Speaking recently with CBS News, the rapper, whose real name is Robert Van Winkle, explained that he views the event simply as a chance to entertain fans and is not focused on its political associations.

"It’s simple as a pimple for me, there’s nothing to it," he told the outlet. "It’s the birthday of America. 250 years. It’s not anything to do with politics. I don’t know why they’re turning it into politics".

He went on to say that he has "never voted in my life," and acknowledged that some performers may be worried about backlash on social media. "For me, I’m just here to celebrate the country I was born in."

Addressing whether he felt misled about the nature of the booking, he said: "When I play events, I never ask about them. I just go, ‘Where am I going?’ I don’t even know and I don’t even care, because I have fans and they have booked me to play a show."

When asked if music and politics should remain separate, he replied: "Heck yeah. They should never be in there. You should do whatever you feel like doing and express yourself. That’s what music is.

"I’d go play for anybody. Putin. Whoever. You want — I’d go to Iran. Don’t matter," he continued. "You can’t pick your fans. They pick you. You’re just an entertainer. Don’t ever try to think you’re anything beyond that."

As CBS noted, Freedom 250 was created last year following an executive order signed by Trump calling for "a grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence".

According to the broadcaster, event organisers continue to insist that the celebration is nonpartisan and is simply "dedicated to uniting Americans around the nation’s 250th anniversary."

Trump has also weighed in on the criticism surrounding the event and the growing list of artists choosing not to participate.

"Two years ago, the United States was DEAD. Now we have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World," he wrote on Truth Social, adding that he would be willing to perform himself if necessary.

"I don’t want so-called ‘Artists’ that get paid far too much money, who aren’t happy. I only want to be surrounded by Happy People, Smart People, Successful People, and People that know how to WIN."

In other news, Trump recently launched another public criticism after a US judge ruled that his name should be removed from the title of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.