As much as my Bulls fandom makes me not want to say this, I have to admit that LeBron James might be a hero, y’all. If his world-dominating play and pointed political activism wasn’t enough, he reportedly helped salvage the critically-adored narrative that Justin Bieber is turning into a good person. According to TMZ, the Cavaliers star convinced Justin Bieber to turn down a $5 million gig in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention.
According to the gossip website, the planned 45-minute show was supposedly non-political in nature, but it was bankrolled by GOP donors for Donald Trump. After James decided to opt out of a similarly non-political event welcoming the GOP to Cleveland, his people apparently contacted Bieber to ask him to do the same.
LeBron was far from alone in convincing Bieber not to do it. Mega-manager Scooter Braun reportedly threatened to walk away from their partnership if Bieber decided to take the gig. Via TMZ:
“We’re told Scooter told Justin it was up to him if he wanted to do the show, but he said he couldn’t continue to represent the singer if he did, out of principle. Scooter felt the GOP was using Bieber as its tool.”
Bieber’s backing band — which is entirely made up of black people — also had problems with the show. While the event was repeatedly billed as non-political, the organizers refused a request to display “Black Lives Matter” signage and told Bieber not to say anything negative about Republican nominee Donald Trump. Ultimately, Bieber walked away from the offer (instead of going Stephan Jenkins on everyone’s asses).
Musicians are disavowing Donald Trump left and right, asking the GOP not to use their music in any way that can be construed as an endorsement. At this rate, Republicans will have to plan future events around repeat performances from Ted Nugent and Kid Rock exclusively.
(Via NME)
