R&B singer Chrisette Michele revealed on a recent appearance on “The Breakfast Club” radio show that she made a defiant gesture in support of Black people during her heavily criticized inauguration performance.
Michele told hosts DJ Envy, Charlamagne Tha God and Angela Yee on the Wednesday, Jan. 25, broadcast that she instantly agreed to perform for President Donald Trump’s inauguration knowing that the backlash was coming.
When Charlamagne insinuated that she did not make a stand while utilizing the platform, Michele went go on the defensive.
“Did you listen? Did you listen? Did you see my [Jean-Michel] Basquiat skirt?” She asks. “I am an artist, I wasn’t given a microphone to be a speaker. So, I wore a Basquiat there. And on my Basquiat skirt, [it] showed us being hung, showed us being beaten by police, showed the brutality and nobody listened. You didn’t listen … and congressmen are still calling me.”
The singer’s controversial skirt still was not enough for Charlamagne. He wanted her to wear a Black Lives Matter T-shirt or pin to show solidarity with Black activists.
“I wrote a song called Black Girl Magic and [director] Spike Lee won’t play it,” Michele counters in frustration. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING?!” Charlamagne, however, continued to imply that the singer’s stand was not sufficient. He insisted that if she had said “Black Lives Matter” or “Black Girl Magic” onstage, her message would have had more of an impact.
After a minute-long shouting match, Charlamagne finally admitted that he didn’t see her performance and needed to be “schooled.” Despite criticism from people who may not have seen her defiant stand, Michele said she “didn’t do it for views” or “to get more followers on Instagram.”
