Like a number of Americans, Sheryl Crow said she was disgusted by the sight of a massive UFC octagon looming larger than the White House. The singer took to her Instagram Story on Monday (June 15) to post a heated comment decrying the for-profit bloodsport spectacle on the lawn of the People’s House at a time when many in the country are struggling with high gas and commodity prices due to the president’s war of choice with Iran.
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“What happened last night on the lawn of the White House was disgraceful and void of decency,” she wrote. “Powerful, rich people filled the lawn to watch a violent sport that ended with a vile and racist comment. All while the average American cannot afford healthcare, gas, and cost of living.”
Crow, a longtime and frequent critic of Trump, added, “Do not be fooled. This administration is corrupt and does not give a damn about the American people. It only cares about making money hand over fist at the expense and in spite of our democracy. If we continue to support this kind of distraction from reality, we are no better than them. Let’s be better, America.”
Trump’s UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House on Sunday (June 14), which took place on the president’s 80th birthday, included fighter Josh Hokit ending his post-match interview with the repetition of a hateful, sexist slur favored by some on the right directed at former First Lady Michelle Obama when he said, “Michelle Obama is a man. Am I right, America?”
According to CNN, a day after the insult, UFC CEO/president and friend of Trump Dana White told Time magazine in a text, “I understand that the Obama’s are public figures but I’m completely against saying nasty and false things about people’s families. Everyone knows my position on free speech but I hate that kind of nonsense.” The network reported that the comment was met with a mixture of boos and cheers in the crowd, with Trump seen “smiling briefly” after Hokit made the false, offensive remark.
Along with Bruce Springsteen, Jack White and Tom Morello, among others, Crow has been at the vanguard of musicians who’ve consistently taken aim at Trump during his second term. She has frequently called him out, including in January, when she called for the former reality star to be impeached and imprisoned over the Epstein files and the president’s well-documented ties to late convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In an Instagram Story back then, Crow wrote, “Those named in the Epstein files in other countries are going down hard for it. Not in America. “We’re just going to act like it never happened or that it’s fake. Who are we if we do not stand up for children who are knowingly being [peddled] to rich leaders all over the world. Trump needs to be impeached and imprisoned along with every other person … Democrat, Republican, American or foreign who knew this was going on and never said anything”; Trump has denied any wrongdoing in connection to Epstein and has claimed he cut ties with his former close friend before news of the financiers’ misdeeds became public.
Last July, Crow slammed Trump’s “immoral” leadership on a fiery song recorded with her touring band, “The New Normal,” on which she sang, “If the news is fake and fear is hate and nothing’s immoral/ To the leader of the free world, then welcome to the new normal.”
