Amid numerous artists backing out of the Freedom 250 concerts, Vanilla Ice has stayed on the bill and said he’d “play for anybody”, including Vladimir Putin and Iran.
The event is scheduled to take place at the National Mall in Washington DC between June 25 and July 10, and celebrates the country’s 250th birthday.
While an official listing describes it as a “once-in-a-generation celebration” that will “unite and showcase all 56 US states and territories in a single World’s Fair-scale event”, the event has been marred by controversy lately, with numerous artists backing out.
Initially, the line-up included Vanilla Ice, Milli Vanilli, Flo Rida, Poison frontman Bret Michaels, The Commodores, Young MC, Morris Day & The Time, C+C Music Factory and more.
However, shortly after the announcement was made Morris Day & The Time dropped out, as did Young MC, Brett Michaels, The Commodores and Martina McBride. Most claimed that they were misled by the booking, saying that while organisers said “that the event is non-partisan”, it now confirmed to be backed by President Donald Trump.
Vanilla Ice, however, is still on the line-up and set to perform as usual. During a recent interview with CBS News, the rapper – real name Robert Van Winkle – said that he just sees it as an opportunity to get on stage and entertain, and isn’t concerned about the political ties to the event.
After several artists drop out of Freedom 250 concerts, Vanilla Ice says he’d “play for anybody” including Putin and Iran https://t.co/LDexhSrfll
— CBS News (@CBSNews) June 2, 2026
“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 added that he has “never voted in my life,” and said that while he gets why some artists would back out due to potential social media backlash, “For me, I’m just here to celebrate the country I was born in.”
“When I play events, I never ask about them,” he said, when asked if he too felt “misled” by the booking. “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.”
As for whether he thought art should be separate from politics, 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 added. “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 highlighted by CBS, Freedom 250 is an organisation launched last year following an executive order from Trump to provide “a grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion of the 250th anniversary of American Independence”.
The outlet says that the organisers maintain that the event is nonpartisan, and simply “dedicated to uniting Americans around the nation’s 250th anniversary.”
AMERICA IS BACK Rally! pic.twitter.com/ZAowKERA12
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 30, 2026
Trump himself has addressed the controversy around the event and the number of artists backing out.
“Two years ago, the United States was DEAD. Now we have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country anywhere in the World,” he wrote on Truth Social, also saying that he would get up there and perform himself.
“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.”
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