Like fellow HBO host Bill Maher, John Oliver dedicated the opening segment of his popular show “Last Week Tonight” to President Trump’s Freedom 250 Concert Series celebrating America’s 250th anniversary, which originally boasted a lineup of unrelated artists such as Vanilla Ice, C+C Music Factory and Milli Vanilli.
“It’s a lineup of people like we haven’t thought of since 2009,” Oliver joked. “Honestly, this sounds more like Rhonda’s 50th anniversary playlist than America’s 250th anniversary. The only really surprising thing about that lineup is that there aren’t any special appearances by the Sham Wow guy or the Gushers kids with raspberry heads.”
The Freedom 250 Concert Series, to be held from June 25 to July 10 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., was originally billed as a bipartisan celebration of America’s semi-quincentenary. The project was originally started in 2016 by America 250, a bipartisan congressional nonprofit group, but was taken over by Freedom 250, a group aligned with Trump as a way to politicize the celebration during Trump’s second term.
“Importantly, the organization organizing that event, Freedom 250, is not the same as America 250, a nonprofit organization established by Congress and led by a bipartisan board of directors. Instead, it is a public-private partnership launched by the White House, and “It has some dangerous elements in place, including the fact that a donor has access to President Trump for $1 million,” Oliver explained, adding, “And as its political leanings became clear, the groups that were part of the initial announcement quickly sprung into action.” Bail money. ”
Yes, artists such as rapper Young MC, R&B group Morris Day and the Time, The Commodores, and country stars Martina McBride and Bret Michaels pulled out of the Freedom 250 Concert Series after learning more about the celebration. So many artists were canceling that President Trump began a late-night rant on his social media platform Truth Social, calling them “singers who are too expensive, no one wants to listen to them, whose music is boring, and who complain all the time,” and that they “should be cancelled.”
“Yeah, there were a lot of cancellations. But I have to tell you, Vanilla Ice didn’t cancel. I think that sounds like the answer to the question, ‘Why does she have a cloudy tip?'” Oliver interjected. “Even some of the acts that are currently still scheduled to perform may not have the members you expect. For example, neither C+C Music Factory’s C will perform; only their rapper Freedom Williams will appear initially. “I agreed to do it, but then I considered turning it down, and then I doubled down because I was angry that people were criticizing me,” Williams explains, rather hilariously, in a seven-minute video he made while pooping in his bathroom.
In addition to the Freedom 250 Concert Series, there will also be UFC Freedom 250 Series matches at the White House, the Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar race, and the Times Square Ball Drop.
“Even with these cancellations, there will still be work to do, because Freedom 250 also touts attractions such as a showcase of states and territories from across America, a 110-foot Ferris wheel, CEO and innovator-led conversations and demonstrations, and special screenings of the iconic films ‘National Treasure’ and ‘National Treasure: Book of Secrets,’ bringing a real ‘substitute teachers don’t give a damn’ energy to the proceedings.” Oliver.
he continued. “However, given what has happened so far, I would not be at all surprised if I received a press release from Ferris Wheel tomorrow stating that they would no longer be participating in the 250th anniversary celebrations due to the political divisive nature of the event.”
