STREAM EXCLUSIVE ORIGINALS

Here's Why Chrisette Michele Says She's Performing for Trump's Inauguration

"My heart is broken for our country..."

After accepting to offer her vocal talents for Donald Trump’s 2017 presidential inauguration, R&B soulstress Chrisette Michele has been weathering the brunt of an anti-Trump storm.

But despite an ominous warning from Snoop Dogg and a cash offer from Questlove, the singer has penned an official open letter explaining why she’s taking up such a controversial deed amid the backlash.

Detailing expression of personal heartbreak regarding the current state of the nation, the "Epiphany" singer began by explaining her passion for the significance of historical milestones.

“My heart is broken for our country, for the hopes of our children, for the fights of those who came before us,” she wrote. “I cry at the thought that Black History, American History might be in vain.”

She continues to vouch for “peaceful and progressive conversation,” adding that the choice to perform is dually an offering of herself as a “bridge” that will open such dialogue. Reports from New York Daily News of the songstress’s acceptance for Trump’s inauguration added that she had actually secured the performance an entire week earlier. Sources claimed that she remained tight-lipped about it to thwart the expected retaliation she would receive up until the day of the performance.

Citing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and her stance for representation, Michele ended the letter by reassuring that her voice at the presidential event is imperative to a much bigger and much more significant picture.  

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about what matters,’” she said. “I am here, representing you, because this is what matters."

See her response to the Trump inauguration performance reaction below.

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