Chrisette Michele Just Got Paid $250,000 for a 30 Minute Trump Performance

Chrisette Michele

Chrisette Michele reportedly just pocketed $250,000 for a half-hour Trump Inaugural performance.  Sorry, what was that, Netflix?

Update, Saturday January 21st (AM): Chrisette Michele’s payout was initially thought to be $750,000.  But that figure may have been for a larger ensemble that dropped out.

Chrisette Michelle has been brutally attacked for accepting a Trump Inaugural gig.  Fans are calling her a traitor.  Fellow artists are calling her a sell-out.  And Spike Lee canceled her from his upcoming Netflix remake of ‘She’s Gotta Have It.’

None of those people are paying her a quarter million dollars for a 30-minute indoor performance.

According to details just published by the New York Daily News, the Trump Inauguration Committee ponied a cool $250,000 for the singer.  And on Friday night, Chrisette Michele played a smooth, quick set at the Liberty Ball on a cushy indoor stage.

Then, it was a bit of conversation with attendees, some free drinks and hors d’oeuvre, and that was that!  

Michele’s manager has been dead quiet on the news, refusing to respond to an inquiry from DMN and other publications.  Other r&b and gospel stars were apparently part of an ‘all-star cast,’ before dropping out.  That may have left Michele with the lion’s share of the payout.

The payment figure was originally believed to be $750,000.  But that may have been allocated for the entire r&b and gospel ensemble.  The Inaugural Committee intentionally kept the names of the other participants quiet, fearing last-minute cancellations.  Ultimately, those performers decided the bad publicity and ethical problems weren’t worth it.

Meanwhile, Chrisette Michele played the unity card, even quoting MLK in a tweet to fans.  That only served to inflame followers, with Michele soon broiled in Twitter hell.

And if you don’t believe that, check out this blowback on Twitter.  Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine Chrisette Michele having the same relationship with her fans after this decision.

But wait: one person has leapt to Chrisette’s defense: Lil Mo.  “Somebody has to stand up and be a voice for us,” Lil Mo asserted. “We can’t just be mad and don’t have a solution. We’ve wasted too much time and too much energy upset at something that we can’t control.

“It’s time to deal with it. We don’t have to accept anything that they dish us, we just have to fight back.”

And get paid doing it!


Top image by ‘Deejay’ (CC by 2.0).  Written while listening to Nas.

30 Responses

  1. RIKKI

    hopefully we will see the black racism that is prevalent in america and the r&b “stars’ income will go down a lot, for not standing up and fighting it.

  2. Connor

    Hope she puts that money in savings because she won’t earn another dime from the black community. If I’m a betting man I’m guessing she will get blackballed her label will drop her and she will have to take a domestic job in the whitehouse

    • Goodygal

      You all are all fos. HILLARY ALLOWED HER HUBBY to go play and sexually harassing interns and all kinds of crap. And Trump is no better for that matter all of them sneaky af.
      I’m just tired of everyone batching about this one selling out etc etc and nobody coming. Up with a plan on how we supposed to coexist and work things out for our community. All this protests only gonna do so much we gotta no what the next moves gonna be. But she did it for the money and it’s done she needed that money that bad.

    • Goodygal

      What? She is a controversial topic NOW. before nobody was checking her like that she play this right she can get up bigger than now. And minorities maybe not all will forgive her eventually after she on Oprah or Gayle or iylana.

  3. Connor

    I use to love her but what she did was selfish. People should boycott any project she is doing including the Love Jones Musical and her future concerts until she gives a real apology to President Obama, John Lewis,Hillary Clinton and the entire black community.

    • Kilo

      wtf this is what we care about?obama and the entire owe black ppl an apology

      • Anonymous

        Of course Hillary is not black but she is a woman. Chrisette could have marched with the millions of people today and got plenty of endorsements and gigs. One year from now the people that she performed for will have forgotten about her.

  4. Brenda

    You black people are funny. Thinking people still owe you something. You all are the real racist.

    • Mr. Jones

      “You” people?…..Name a Christte Michelle song besides the one mentioned w/out google…..I’ll wait.

  5. Just stop 33

    Come on people what is going on what is it that is wrong in our own life that we can be so cold hearted this is going on for to long fix yourself we watch our love ones die bills get behind we get sick talk about each other and walk around like some one still owe us something okay some one do you owe yourself . How can you get up in the morning now your life is not right and get on line and judge someone she feel like she did was right leave her alone. people say they want know her in a year ok but who will know you. Give people a chance we all fuck up don’t know what to say sometime shit that’s life take care of your family live your life help others we talk about the white man but at the end you look back at what you have and who you giving it to the most add up all the shit you got you owe and see who you gave the most to white man don’t have it all what I’m saying let that woman be I love everyone at the end of the day all I have is my family and ill give to do if I don’t need I want get if it from the black man or white man get your lie right everything will fall in play stop making the rich people rich black or white if you not getting nothing back what ae you getting for talking bout one of gods children, nothing everyone just STOP if not for good just for a day do that challenge . Chrisette keep your head up you are somebody that I will remember and I respect you for doing what you want to do I love that our people will kill each other but get up here like we should stick up for each other get it right people damn

  6. Sharon

    The 250,000 question is why did she perform? They were begging entertainers left and right to perform and all said no. Did she need the bread that bad? Or did her PR people need the bread and told her to perform. The bad part is no one knows her team they will go on to more artist and her name is stained forever. Have you notice no one from her team is being interviewed or giving statements or trying to spin this for her. They are distancing themselves. Spike is just the beginning. My advice is call a press conference.

  7. T Brown

    There are so many people talking about how she won’t get a dime from the Black community because she chose to perform. They probably weren’t supporting her before her decision which could be the reason why she did it.

    I am Black and I did not vote for Trump and I’m not a Chrisette Michele fan but I defend her right to do what she wants to do and would never treat her any different because of her decision.

  8. John

    Netflix and Spike Lee can kiss my money good bye.
    The liberals don’t want a boycott war.
    Christians will win. Remember Chik fi lay in Chicago?

    • Darren

      Their is nothing Christian about supporting Trump. I’m sick of having Christianity attached to him! He has a god, greed. He said himself he doesn’t ask for forgiveness bit humility and repentance are the cornerstones of Christianity.

  9. John

    Christians should boycott Target Starbucks IBM Amazon Netflix
    Hollywood and all mainstream liberal media. CNN CBS NBC ABC MSNBC PBS. All liberal T.V Shows.
    Huffington Post Yahoo MSN AOL and all liberal online media sites. Anything and everything liberal.
    Music too because they wanted Hillary Clinton as POTUS and who give in first.

    • Me

      But keep all the right wing tv stations huh?!? GTFOH you sound foolish as hell John Boy!!!

    • Darren

      Anyone who claims Christianity and supported trump is not aware of what Christianity is.

  10. ThatGirlBarbieJ

    She did not and still does not owe me an explanation as to why she chose to participant in the inaugural celebration. However since she opted to, she opened herself up to opinions and criticism. In my opinion, there was no bridge that was gapped nor was there EVER an opportunity for that to happen – she was HIRED to ENTERTAIN!! She was WORKING!!! Chrisette shouldn’t have tried to it dress it up. It was a job, nothing more nothing less. She did it because she wanted to and I’m sure smiled when the check cleared.

  11. LAS3

    “None of those people are paying her a quarter million dollars for a 30-minute indoor performance.”

    Actually, Questlove offered to pay her not to perform.

  12. Rick Shaw

    Politics aside, $250k is way too much for this artist, for this gig. Someone overpaid.

  13. asdf

    Liberal pillars like Nicki Minaj, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce, Sting, Usher, and Mariah Carey have earned hundreds of thousands of dollars playing private concerts for actual dictators and despots around the world (like Muammar Gaddafi) and they continue to enjoy the wealth and fame that only sanctimonious liberal moral relativism brings.

  14. anon

    To all who’ve asked whether she really needs the money that badly — yes, she probably does! She does not have the career of Beyonce, Katy Perry, Madonna, etc. This is probably the biggest payout she’s seen in a long time, if not ever. And as much as I hate Trump, A list artists (including Beyonce) have been performing for arguably more despicable leaders for a long time now with hardly such outcry. Everyone has their price. There isn’t much that most of us wouldn’t do to earn $250k in 30 minutes.