Vanessa Williams and PBS slammed for ‘Black national anthem’ performance

(CNN)There was backlash over Vanessa Williams performing for Independence Day before it even happened.
Williams hosted PBS’ “A Capitol Fourth” on Sunday, and it had been announced that she would sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing,” which has become known as the “Black national anthem.”
In the promotion leading up to the show, Williams talked about including the song.
“It’s in celebration of the wonderful opportunity that we now have to celebrate Juneteenth,” USA Today reported the former Miss America saying. “So we are reflective of the times.”
Juneteenth commemorates the emancipation of African American slaves and was declared a federal holiday in the US this year.
Conservative Twitter jumped on the “national anthem” part and declared it “divisive,” “segregation” and “racist” to have any anthem other than “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which was scheduled to be performed by Grammy-award winner Renée Fleming.
Still, others supported Williams and chalked the whole thing up to social media doing what it does best — outrage.

WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 03: Multi-platinum recording artist and star of television, film and the Broadway stage Vanessa Williams performs for “A Capitol Fourth,” live from Washington, DC, airing Sunday on PBS July 04, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Capital Concerts)

Blogs

CLIPSE IS THE FIRST TO PERFORM AT THE VATICAN

CLIPSE IS THE FIRST TO PERFORM AT THE VATICAN

Over the weekend, Clipse became the first rap group to perform at the Vatican. Pusha T and No Malice took the stage with John Legend at St. Peter’s Square on Saturday during the Grace for the World concert. Clipse performed the emotional “The Birds Don’t Sing” off Let God Sort Em Out. Pharrell Williams was…

MONTELL JORDAN REVEALS CANCER DIAGNOSIS

MONTELL JORDAN REVEALS CANCER DIAGNOSIS

Montell Jordan has revealed that the prostate cancer that he recovered from has now returned. Jordan has already had his prostate removed and said even though it was removed, he still needs to go back and have treatments because it’s been detected that there is still cancer. He called the situation ‘alarming’, but is also…

TEYANA TAYLOR TO HAVE THROAT SURGERY

TEYANA TAYLOR TO HAVE THROAT SURGERY

Teyana Taylor told her fans that she needs to have emergency throat surgery. In her IG Story posted on Wednesday, Taylor said her doctor found a non-cancerous growth on one of her vocal cords. Taylor said she had been dealing with voice problems and some discomfort for a while. She’s glad that doctors caught the…

MEGAN THEE STALLION TO HOST NEW SERIES

MEGAN THEE STALLION TO HOST NEW SERIES

Megan Thee Stallion just added a couple more titles to her resume. The Hot Girl Coach is slated to star in a new K-pop competition series for Apple TV+ alongside Psy. It’s called KPopped. The concept is simple — Western artists team up with K-pop stars to reimagine some of their hits. The Western artists…