"Were they even asked?" — Internet reacts to rumor Lady Gaga and Elton John refused to perform at Trump's inauguration

After Donald Trump's win in the 2024 Presidential elections, several celebrities have reacted to the news. While some claimed that they were planning to leave the country if he won, artists like Lady Gaga and Elton John were rumored to have denied performing at his inauguration which is set to happen in January 2025.

A post shared by an X user (@ThePatriotOasis) went viral, in which the user claimed that both Lady Gaga and Elton John had "refused to perform" at the event. In the tweet, dated November 14, 2024, the user wrote:

"Elton John and Laga Gaga have refused to perform at Trump's inauguration. Does anyone care?"

The tweet gained traction and received more than 2 million views along with over 73K likes (as of this writing). Netizens flooded the comment section and shared their take on it. One user (@JRand1685) wrote:

"Were they even asked? It's strange to come out and say that when you're not invited."

Another user stated:

"I bet no one asked either one of them."

"I’m very sure Trump and his team have many musicians who would be willing to play at the inauguration," added a tweet.

"I thought Lady Gaga was supposed to flee the country in the event of a Trump win?" said another netizen.

Several other netizens stated that they would prefer some other artists to play at the event. A user tweeted:

"I hope Kid Rock preforms! And many of the rappers that came out with great MAGA rap songs! 😉👍🏻"

"I bet John Rich and others will turn it into a memorably patriotic occasion," commented another one.

While the post grew popular on the social media platform, many were skeptical to believe that the aforementioned artists got an invite to perform at the inauguration ceremony.

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Elton John had previously denied performing at Trump's inauguration back in 2017

While the list of artists performing in the upcoming inauguration ceremony is yet to be confirmed and revealed, Elton John was reportedly invited to perform in 2017. In November 2016, Anthony Scaramucci, a member of the presidential transition team appeared on the BBC program “HARDtalk” and claimed that John would be a performer at the event.

Scaramucci then said:

"This will be the first American president in U.S. history that enters the White House with a pro-gay-rights stance. Elton John is going to be doing our concert on the mall for the inauguration."

The claim was, however, later denied by Elton John's team. The New York Times reported in November 2016 that an email was sent by the singer's publicist, which read:

"Incorrect. He will NOT be performing."

While Elton John denied performing at the event, artists like Toby Keith, Lee Greenwood, rock band 3 Doors Down, The Piano Guys, and DJ Ravidrums performed at the event held on January 19, 2017.

Apart from Elton John, as per an LBC report from November 2024, other artists who were rumored to have been approached in 2017 included Celine Dion, Kiss, and Garth Brooks. However, some of these reports were denied by Trump's team. As for the upcoming inauguration ceremony, there has been no official confirmation about the performers so far.