Stars who avoided President Trump’s first inauguration flock back to Washington

Carrie Underwood's participation in Trump's inauguration reflects a shift in celebrity support, with more entertainers aligning with the administration.

Carrie Underwood might not be Beyoncé or Garth Brooks in the celebrity superstar ecosystem. But the singer’s participation in U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is nevertheless a sign of the changing tides, where mainstream entertainers, from Nelly to The Village People are more enthusiastically associating with the new administration.

Eight years ago, Mr. Trump reportedly struggled to enlist stars to be part of the swearing-in and the various glitzy balls that follow. The concurrent protest marches around the nation had more famous entertainers than the swearing-in, which stood in stark contrast to someone like Barack Obama, whose second inaugural ceremony had performances from Beyoncé, James Taylor, and Kelly Clarkson and a series of starry onlookers.

There were always some celebrity Trump supporters, like Kid Rock, Hulk Hogan, Jon Voight, Rosanne Barr, Mike Tyson, Sylvester Stallone, and Dennis Rodman, to name a few. But Mr. Trump’s victory this time around was decisive and while Hollywood may always skew largely liberal, the slate of names participating in his inauguration weekend events has improved.

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Kid Rock, Billy Ray Cyrus, The Village People, and Lee Greenwood all performed at a MAGA style rally on Sunday. Those performing at inaugural balls include the rapper Nelly, country music band Rascal Flatts, country singer Jason Aldean, and singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw.

Changing tides

“The people who are coming out and participating directly are still a small subset of the entire universe of what we call celebrity,” said Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. “But we are seeing a lot more celebrities who are coming out and supporting Trump”.