World-renowned opera singer Andrea Bocelli reportedly will not perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration ceremony after fans threatened to boycott his concerts.
“Bocelli said there was no way he’d take the gig . . . he was ‘getting too much heat’ and he said no,” a source told the New York Post‘s Page Six.
Reports began to surface last week that Trump had been personally courting his longtime friend Bocelli to perform at the event next month in Washington D.C.
However, the Italian tenor came under intense pressure on social media over his potential performance, with some users tweeting the hashtag “#BoycottBocelli.”
“Surely Andrea Bocelli isn’t considering performing for Trump’s inauguration? If so then #BoycottBocelli is on!” one social media user wrote over the weekend.
“.@AndreaBocelli I love your voice, but will feel obligated to join #BoycottBocelli if you sing at Trump’s coronation,” another wrote.
Though the initial source had said that the singer had pulled out of the performance, another source told Page Six that it was the President-elect himself who urged him to reconsider the gig.
“Trump suggested to Bocelli he not participate because of the backlash,” the second source said. “It’s sad people on the left kept him from performing on a historic day.”
It has been confirmed that teenage singer Jackie Evancho will perform the National Anthem at Trump’s inauguration.
Follow Jerome Hudson on Twitter @jeromeehudson