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Young MC and Morris Day Exit D.C. ‘Freedom 250’ Festival Amid Trump Controversy

Rapper Young MC withdraws from the government-sponsored "Freedom 250" festival in Washington, D.C., following Morris Day's departure. C+C Music Factory is reassessing its participation, as artists claim they were not informed of any politic

Variety Music·May 28, 2026·via Variety Music

Young MC and Morris Day Exit D.C. ‘Freedom 250’ Festival Amid Trump Controversy

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May 28, 2026 12:30am PT

Young MC Follows Morris Day in Exiting D.C. ‘Freedom 250’ Festival Over Trump Connection, as C+C Music Factory Weighs Options: ‘The Artists Were Never Told About Any Political Involvement’

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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On the very day the “ Freedom 250 ” concert series was announced, rapper Young MC became the second artist to publicly back out of the government-sponsored festival taking place on the National Lawn in Washington, D.C.. His exit following Morris Day ‘s statement earlier Wednesday that he and the Time would have nothing to do with the newly announced patriotic series, an outgrowth of an Independence Day initiative tarted by the Trump administration.

Meanwhile, a third artist that had been announced Wednesday morning, C+C Music Factory frontman Freedom Williams, posted a fired-up, profanity-laced eight-minute message in which he initially said he’d planned to back out of the show after learning about Trump involvement. Then Williams backtracked and said C+C Music Factory might well go ahead with the gig after all, to show he was impervious to the backlash and could not be told what to do by angry commenters.