Janelle Monáe is calling out Nelly for performing at an event for Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration. As TMZ reported Monáe was in the middle of covering Nelly’s 2002 hit “Hot in Herre” at a Grammys afterparty with Anderson .Paak.
She said, “F**k you Nelly! I used to like Nelly, but then he went to perform for Donald Trump, f**k that n***a, I don’t give a f**k… ain’t nobody gonna hate on us and I’m gonna look back like I don’t give a f**k.”
Monáe had much more to say about the rapper.
She continued, “I care about women. I care about Hispanics. I care about Spanish people. I care about Mexicans. I care about gay people. Nelly, you sold out. I used to think you was cool, but now you look like a motherf*****g fool. I don’t care what you really saying. I might be a little tipsy, but I know everything I’m motherf*****g saying. If you think I’m rude, f**k you n***a. Get a new attitude!”
Since receiving backlash over performing at Trump inauguration ball, Nelly defended himself when he appeared on a YouTube stream with Willie D.
“I respect the office. This isn’t politics,” Nelly said, per USA TODAY. “The politics, for me, it’s over. He won. He’s the president. He’s the commander-in-chief of what I would like to say is the best country in the world.”
At the 2025 Grammys on Sunday, several artists spoke out against Trump. Alicia Keys made one of the strongest statements of the night when she accepted the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award.
“This is not the time to shut down the diversity of voices,” the 17-time Grammy-winning artist told the audience, per USA TODAY. “We’ve seen on this stage talented, hardworking people from different backgrounds with different points of view, and it changes the game. DEI is not a threat, it’s a gift.”
