Broadway star Jennifer Holliday has backed out as a performer at this week’s presidential inaugural, saying she did not realize that her participation would be interpreted as a statement of support for President-elect Donald Trump. Holliday, best known for her Tony-winning role in Broadway’s Dreamgirls, faced pressure from her gay and black fans when it was announced that she would sing at a Thursday concert at Washington’s Lincoln Memorial. Holliday said in an interview Saturday that she decided at 3 a.m. not to participate after reading commentary about how the decision was being seen. She apologized for a lack of judgment. “It just really hit home for me,” she said. “The gay community has big part of my life and my career. I feel there really wouldn’t be a Jennifer Holliday or a Dreamgirls in the 21st Century without them. I needed to at least hear them out and learn why it would be such a great disappointment for them.” Several prominent entertainers have declined to perform at Trump inaugural festivities. Country star Toby Keith and actor Jon Voight are in the lineup for Thursday’s concert.
Johnny Depp sued his former business managers Friday alleging that they mism a n a ge d his earnings throughout a lucrative period of his career, a l t h o u g h the company says the actor’s spending is to blame. Depp’s lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court against The Management Group seeks more than $25 million, alleging its owners failed to properly pay his taxes, made unauthorized loans and overpaid for security and other services. Michael Kump, an attorney for The Management Group, calls Depp’s lawsuit a “fabrication” and wrote in a statement that Depp never alleged any wrongdoing. The company “did everything possible to protect Depp from his irresponsible and profligate spending,” Kump wrote. Depp’s lawsuit accuses the company and its owners, attorneys Joel and Robert Mandel, of receiving $28 million in payments for their services over roughly 16 years. The company “actively concealed the true state of Mr. Depp’s finances while driving him deeper and deeper into financial distress,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit came on the same day Depp finalized his divorce from actress Amber Heard. Their divorce judgment calls for the actor to pay his exwife $7 million — which she has earmarked for two charities — while allowing him to keep numerous properties and vehicles.