Janelle Monae is making it known that she doesn’t care for Nelly anymore after he recently performed at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
At an afterparty for the Grammys, Janelle Monae was vibing to Nelly’s hit song “Hot in Herre” alongside Anderson .Paak. She went off on Nelly for performing at Donald Trump’s inauguration, and she made sure everyone felt her words. In a fiery remix of the song’s lyrics, Monáe straight-up called Nelly a “sellout.” “I used to like Nelly, but then he went to perform for Donald Trump,” the singer free-styled over the “Hot in Herre” beat.
“I care about women, I care about Hispanics,” she continued, “I might be a little tipsy but I know everything I’m (expletive) saying.”
Monáe, who took the stage for the Quincy Jones tribute at Sunday night’s ceremony, has always been a vocal advocate for social justice and political issues.
The singer showed up at the Women’s March, a powerful demonstration for female empowerment that went down after Trump’s first inauguration in 2017. At the rally, she spoke out passionately against police brutality and the unjust killings of Black men.
Monáe’s spontaneous diss track was aimed directly at Nelly for his recent performance at a Trump event. Back in January, he was one of the artists who performed at an inauguration ball for the new president.
Even though his choice stirred up a lot of controversy, Nelly insisted he wasn’t backing Trump’s politics.
In a recent YouTube stream with Willie D, the 50-year-old rapper stood his ground against the backlash, stating: “I respect the office. This isn’t politics. The politics, for me, it’s over. He won. He’s the president. He’s the commander-in-chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world.”
While a lot of artists have steered clear of showing support for Trump, Nelly stepped into the spotlight as part of a small group of performers who accepted invitations to perform at various inauguration balls after his swearing-in.
Other notable artists in that mix included Billy Ray Cyrus, Snoop Dogg, and Carrie Underwood.
“If President Biden would have asked me to perform, I would have performed. If Vice President Kamala Harris would have won and asked me to perform, I would have performed,” Nelly said of his decision.