Beans Talk | Artists Keep Dropping Out of Trump's Concert

Summary

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The Daily Beans: Beans Talk – Artists Keep Dropping Out of Trump's Concert

Date: June 1, 2026
Hosts: Allison Gill & Dana Goldberg

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Episode Overview

In this episode of Beans Talk, Allison Gill and Dana Goldberg dive into the unfolding fiasco of former President Donald Trump’s “Freedom250” concert event, advertised as a “Great American State Fair” for the country's 250th birthday. The episode details how a slew of musical acts dropped out after learning of the event’s political and Trump-aligned nature, leaving the lineup in shambles and sparking a round of Trump’s signature social media meltdowns. Hosts bring their trademark wit and snark, covering the chaos behind the concert, artist statements, Trump’s reactions, and even end on a wholesome note highlighting a record-setting spelling bee champion.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Celebration of Pride Month

• [00:59] - [01:28]
  • Opening with June’s arrival and Pride Month recognition. The hosts celebrate diverse identities and express a commitment to making “homophobes and bigots really uncomfortable” for the next 30 days.
  • Allison Gill: “All the gays, all the buys, all the pans, all the lesbians, whoop, whoop. All the enbies, all the bricks and dolls.”
  • Dana Goldberg: “Everybody happy Pride. This is amazing.”

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Trump’s “Freedom250” Concert: The Collapse

The Chaos Begins

• [01:30] - [02:26]

  • The episode pivots to the main story: the unraveling of Trump’s flagship 250th birthday celebration, initially publicized with a nostalgic lineup.
  • Recap of artists who dropped out in quick succession:
    • Morris Day and the Time (first to bow out)
    • Young MC
    • C+C Music Factory
    • Martina McBride
    • Bret Michaels
    • Milli Vanilli (whose participation was contested by original members)

• Memorable Moment
  Allison Gill, on Milli Vanilli:
  “Don’t you just mean Vanilli?”
  [03:07]

Why Did They Leave?

• [04:07] - [04:59]

  • Artists issue statements clarifying they weren’t aware of the event’s political (pro-Trump) nature.
  • Young MC (via Instagram):
    “The artists were never told about any political involvement… despite the claims by the organizers that the event is nonpartisan, Spin magazine describes it as Trump backed.”
  • Martina McBride:
    “It greatly upsets me that any fan… may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs.”
  • Bret Michaels expresses disappointment and clarifies his shows are “never about politics… Unfortunately, what was presented… evolved into something much more divisive. Concerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family, and myself… so I have made the difficult decision to step away.”
    [Full Bret Michaels quote at 04:59–07:01]

• Dana Goldberg draws a parallel between McBride’s “Independence Day” and the current US political landscape:
  “Which is ironic because that’s what is happening to the rest of us in this country. We’re in an abusive relationship with the President of the United States.”
  [04:59]

Left Standing: Vanilla Ice & Flo Rida

• [03:26] - [04:07]
  • Only Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida are left as confirmed acts, but hosts joke their involvement still seems tentative.

How Did This Happen?

• [07:30] - [07:59]
  • The hosts point out artists were misled, told the event was a patriotic, non-political celebration focusing on veterans and teachers.
    Allison Gill: “… they left the whole Trump administration part out of it. And so when everybody found out, they peaced out.”

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Trump’s Truth Social Meltdown

• [08:07] - [09:39]

  • With so many dropouts, Trump takes to Truth Social to vent, threatening to “replace” the acts with a speech of his own.
  • Trump’s post boasts he’s “the number one attraction anywhere in the world” and gets “larger audiences than Elvis in his prime… the man who loves our country more than anyone else,” calling for a rally instead of a concert.

• Memorable quote from Trump (read by Gill):
  “We should have a giant make America great again rally for 250 instead of having overpriced singers who nobody wants to hear. Whose music is boring and yet who do nothing but complain.”
  [08:52]

• [10:11]

  • Gill critiques Trump’s mischaracterization of artists experiencing “the yips.”
    “He’s saying they’re getting cold feet… That’s not what that means.”
    Dana Goldberg adds: “Not what’s happening. They’re actually getting their spine. Values, morals, book values.”
    [10:29]

• [11:04]

  • Trump called the (recently withdrawn) singers “third rate,” which the hosts mock:
    “They were, they were. You picked them and they still said no.” – Allison Gill

• Commentary on Trump’s marathon social posting sessions:
  “Just crazy AI slop garbage… He’ll go on these three hour binges on social media and he'll post like 50, 60, sometimes 70 times.” – Allison Gill [11:05]

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“Moment of Zen”: Spelling Bee Champion

• [11:38] - [15:44]

  • The episode closes with praise for 14-year-old Shrey Parikh, who won the 2026 Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling 32 words in 90 seconds during a spell-off.
  • Audio from the contest showcases Shrey’s astounding performance.

• Hosts are in awe:
  “That was incredible. Wow. I don’t even know what these words are. I mean, if you said, define any of these… I would not be able to.” – Dana Goldberg [14:11]
  “Most people don’t know there’s a B in dumb.” – Allison Gill [14:24]

  Discussion acknowledges the skill, effort, and joy these kids bring, turning the spotlight from national melodrama to individual achievement and optimism.

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Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “We are going to make a lot of homophobes and bigots really uncomfortable for the next 30 days.”
  – Dana Goldberg [01:09]

• “My response to Milli Vanilli dropping out: don’t you just mean Vanilli?”
  – Allison Gill [03:07]

• “Independence Day is about her leaving an abusive relationship… We’re in an abusive relationship with the President of the United States.”
  – Dana Goldberg [04:59]

• Bret Michaels, on withdrawing:
  “What was presented… has evolved into something much more divisive… Concerns raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family, and myself… I have made the difficult decision to step away…”
  [04:59–07:01]

• “So it sounds like all these folks were basically lied to… when everybody found out, they peaced out.”
  – Allison Gill [07:30]

• Reading Trump’s Truth Social post:
  “I understand artists are getting the yips… so I’m thinking about bringing the number one attraction anywhere in the world… Donald J. Trump to take the place of these highly paid third rate artists.”
  – Allison Gill [08:07]

• “He desperately tried to book these artists and now he’s calling them third rate garbage. You picked them and they still said no.”
  – Allison Gill [10:39]

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Conclusion

The episode delivers a clear, snark-laden deconstruction of Trump’s failed bid at organizing a “nonpartisan” concert, revealing how misleading communications led artists to flee once the event’s true nature emerged. Trump’s characteristic shift from recruitment to public derision is lampooned, while the hosts remind listeners about the importance of values, integrity, and standing up for one’s beliefs—even in the entertainment world. The sweetness of the spelling bee champion’s victory serves as a refreshing contrast, highlighting the resilience and brilliance of the next generation.

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Additional Highlights

• Pride Month joy and inclusive shout-outs set a celebratory tone for June, grounding the episode in the hosts’ commitment to progressive values.
• The juxtaposition of petty political drama and youthful accomplishment offers both catharsis and hope.
• A running tone of irreverent humor and camaraderie makes the episode both informative and entertaining.

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Transcript

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do. That's right. It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear. That's right. We think you need to hear it. Okay. Yeah. It's what we say.

[Dana Goldberg]

So.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, Idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.

[Allison Gill]

Okay? All we do is give.

[Unidentified Guest or Host]

Hey, Everybody.

[Allison Gill]

It's Monday, June 1st, 2026. I'm Allison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

And I'm Dana Goldberg. And this is Beans Talk.

[Allison Gill]

Rabbit. Rabbit. June 1st. Happy June.

[Dana Goldberg]

Happy Pride Month. And I can't believe I didn't say that on the long beans. Happy first day of Pride Month to all who celebrate. And hopefully that's everyone watching this and everyone listening to the audio version of the daily Beans Pride Month is among us. We are going to make a lot of homophobes and bigots really uncomfortable for the next 30 days.

[Allison Gill]

Yep. All the gays, all the buys, all the pans, all the lesbians, whoop, whoop. All the enbies, all the bricks and dolls.

[Dana Goldberg]

I mean, just everybody love it.

[Allison Gill]

Everybody happy Pride. This is amazing. That's right. And here's the problem is, is what? We record these shows a day before things happen. And so sometimes we forget. We're like, oh, it's not because it's not for us right this second, but it is because you're watching this. So happy Pride. And what I want to talk about today, though is Trump's 250 Fyre Fest reboot.

[Dana Goldberg]

What a disaster.

[Allison Gill]

Absolutely unraveling over the weekend. I mean, it just went down. Okay, so this was the lineup as advertised. Let's put up this lineup here. But then more stay in the time. Peaced out. They were the first to go. They dropped out. Followed by Young mc. He only plays high class functions. Then CNC Music Factory was like, we're not doing this. Then Martina McBride dropped out. And then Bret Michaels said, no thanks.

[Dana Goldberg]

Then Milli Vanilli. Yep. The pop. I know, I know. The fact that they were even booked after they were the famous strip, the famous duo that was stripped at their Grammy. You all have to remember this. They're also disputing their participation. Okay. Now, one of the original vocalists told ABC News that they were not contacted to participate in the event, accusing Fab Morven. And he is the surviving member of. Okay. Of the lip syncing pop duo of using the Milli Vanilli name for a performance they say does not represent the original group, sound or singers. Which is ironic since neither did Milli Manilli. But that's beside, beside the point.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, I think my, my response to Milli Vanilli dropping out was I'm like, don't you just mean Vanilli? I mean, there you go. It's not anyway on the rain. That's who they're blaming, right?

[Dana Goldberg]

They are. They have to be. And if they're not, they should have.

[Allison Gill]

I, I would if I were Vanilli.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

So this just leaves Vanilla Ice and Flo Rida. Okay, so you know Vanilla Ice stop collaborate and listen. Vanilla's back with the brand new concoction. I. I can't remember the rest. Ice Ice Baby Fame. Right. And Flo Rida of. I don't know. Shake your ass. Show me what you're working with. I think that's Flo Rida. I'm not quite sure. Very good beatboxer. But anyway, those are the two remaining performers so far. I mean, they might drop out of this too, but Morris Day in the Time kicked it all off, like I said. And they put this post on social media. It's a no for me shades. And it says, contrary to rumor, Morris Day and the Time will not be performing at the Great American State Fair.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's what kicked us all off. And then Young MC had this to say. I've informed my agents that I will not be performing at the Freedom250 event. The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event. And despite the claims by the organizers that the event is nonpartisan, Spin magazine describes it as Trump backed. Now, I hope to perform in D.C. in the near future at an event that is not so politically charged.

[Allison Gill]

Okay. And thank you, young mc. He's on a mission and he's wishing someone could cure his lonely condition. Martina McBride said, quote, I've been blessed with the opportunity to have a voice for those who felt like they didn't have one. And it greatly upsets me that any fan, fan who may have been moved by my music may now feel like I'm abandoning those meaning. Those. The meaning behind those songs.

[Dana Goldberg]

And what's crazy about that specific one is that there has been so many people commenting, you can never sing Independence Day again. You're not part of this country. If you were even a fan of Martina McBride, which I am. Independence Day is about her leaving an abusive relationship. Listen to the song. Which is ironic because that's what happened is happening to the rest of us in this country. We're in an abusive relationship with the President of the United States. Now here's Brett Michael Statement, and he says hello to all my awesome friends and fans. I want to jump on here real quick and talk about the upcoming Freedom250 event in Washington, D.C. when this opportunity was originally presented to my team, it was described as a celebration of our country through music and a chance to honor our veterans, active military, first responders, teachers, and hardworking Americans from all walks of life. As the son of a veteran and coming from a family that has proudly served, that is something I've always been honored to support. As many of you know, I've spent my entire career bringing people together through music positivity and good vibes. My shows have never been about politics. They're about giving people a place to come together, have a great time, and forget about life stresses for a few hours. Unfortunately, what was presented to us as a celebration of our country has evolved into something much more divisive. That's what we agreed to be a part of. Concerns have also been raised regarding the safety of my fans, band, crew, family, and myself, including threats that are completely unfounded and unforgivable. Because of that, I have made the difficult decision to step away from this performance. I really hope those threats are not coming from people on our side. By the way, anything that his family or he are getting threatened by because they thought he was going to perform in this. It's really interesting to see if they are coming after he dropped out. I think most of those are probably coming from there, But a lot of respect, a lot of respects for Brett Michaels decision here.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Former lead singer of Poison.

[Unidentified Guest or Host]

Yep.

[Allison Gill]

Remember, CC picked that guitar to me. Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

I like the. The rock ballads. You know what I'm talking about?

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

Was that Poison?

[Allison Gill]

Was that I was that. I thought that was Van Hate. Well, now I have to look.

[Dana Goldberg]

Well, now I have to look. We're gonna do this live with you, everybody. You ready?

[Allison Gill]

It is Poison. You got it. You got it.

[Dana Goldberg]

Thank you very much.

[Allison Gill]

You got it, girl.

[Dana Goldberg]

That was fast. Nice.

[Allison Gill]

Google Ladies choice backwards skate, right? Oh, man. So it sounds like all these folks were basically lied to. Like they booked him and said it's a national state fair for America's 250th birthday, we're gonna be celebrating veterans and teachers and stuff. All the people that we hate, all the people that the Trump administration hurting and destroying, we're going to celebrate. All them come saying they left the whole Trump administration part out of it. And so when everybody found out, they peaced out.

[Dana Goldberg]

But then here I come to save the day.

[Allison Gill]

He flipped out. Donald Trump flipped out after pretty much everybody canceled. And he posted this on Truth Social. I'm not reading the whole thing, but I'm going to read you part of it. I understand artists are getting the yips having to do with their performance on Wednesday. So I'm thinking about bringing the number one attraction anywhere in the world, the man who gets much larger, larger audiences than Elvis in his prime and he does so without a guitar. The man who loves our country more than anyone else and the man who some say is the greatest president in history, the goat. Donald J. Trump. To take the place of these highly paid third rate artists and give a major speech rallying the country forward like I've done ever since being literally.

[Dana Goldberg]

He's calling for a Trump rally. Then he Trump rally. Yep. Then he said this. We should have a giant make America great again rally for 250 instead of having overpriced singers who nobody wants to hear. Wow, he really turned on them quickly. Whose music is boring and yet who do nothing about and complain. Cancel it. Just like I canceled my involvement with the failing and unsafe to be in Kennedy center. Because I cancel it.

[Allison Gill]

Canceled it, you dork.

[Dana Goldberg]

Because a highly conflicted crooked federal judge that you just mentioned said that I should not be allowed to spend my time and money in order to make the center great again. Actually far greater than it's ever been before. It would have also been nice to see a Republican Democrat union before it back to life. Oh my God. To bring it back to life. I just. The crying. I just, I can't to get his name off there. What I really love when we covered this in the long beans. It is legally in writing. That is to honor John F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy only in writing by law.

[Allison Gill]

We all knew that it just. The courts take a few months, right. To catch up.

[Dana Goldberg]

It's still nice. The winds, they're small wins. We gotta, we gotta take them where we can get them still. We do.

[Allison Gill]

And you know, I want to address the thing that he said that Donald Trump said about the, the artists getting the yips. That's not what that's. He's saying they're getting cold feet or they, they're. There's some sort of mental block preventing them from performing properly. That's not what that means.

[Dana Goldberg]

No, not, not, not, not. What's happening to these artists? They're actually getting their spine desperately trying morals, book values.

[Allison Gill]

He desperately tried to book these artists and now he's calling them third rate garbage. They were, they were. You picked them and they still said no. Okay, man. Just what a show. Just in general, it just completely fell apart. And then he's like, he, by the way, he had like one of his, you know, like bipolar posting days.

[Unidentified Guest or Host]

Yeah.

[Allison Gill]

On, on Saturday I think where he just was posting just crazy AI slop garbage. Just all day. Like for three hours. He'll go on these three hour binges on social media and he'll post like 50, 60, sometimes 70 times. And this was one of those times and the first one was like so long that it, you know, it was basically like, you know when you that meme like hey, I ain't reading all that happy for you or sorry that happened.

[Dana Goldberg]

Yeah, seriously. Obviously there's no charact limit on true social because my God.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, they. I think that was probably by design. All right, before we get out of here today, I had to share this. I saw this video over the weekend and it's just absolutely amazing. It's your moment of zen today. It's 14 year old Shrey Parikh. He's spelling 32 words in 90 seconds to win the 2026 script spelling be that happened this past Friday.

[Dana Goldberg]

I saw this last week. Unbelievable.

[Allison Gill]

It is amazing. Watch.

[Unidentified Guest or Host]

So your first word is Taroni. T o r o n Thymeme Iguape I g I p e Denebola dne Biola Fay Dodo F a I s d o d o Kawathai C y w y d d a u Pohu Takawa P o h u t u k a w a Menadnoc m1 a d n o c k emud Emut Nanofossil Anana no Fossil Tong Kang Tiong Kng Natchitosh N a t c h I t o c h e s Flah FL a I t h Semele S e m e l e Rusel R u S e l l Sauder S a w d r Campurnell CMPR n e l l e Nickel Nicole Zaminis Z a m e n I s Tar Parker T h a r P r K r Tlachtley Tlach TLI Madokla M a d o q u A Rishi arias R e t I a r I u s Balintawak b l I n t a w a k tessera contour t s s a r a c on t e r Tora cathapsia T a u r o k a t h a p s I a Rapakivi r a p a k I v ib uayb paremia P a r o e m I a Mellen kett Amelie n g k e t Taraglin P r a g l I n Homelyn H o m e l y n Chikungunya C h I k u n g u n y a bromocryptine b r o m o c r I p t I n e Kashaw Cushaw.

[Dana Goldberg]

Oh, my God.

[Unidentified Guest or Host]

You saw his parents, Gaurav and Kiati there. They were not surprised at that because they've seen it at home.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

I'm surprised. Holy mackerel.

[Dana Goldberg]

That was incredible. Wow. I don't even know what these words are. I mean, if you said, define any of these, almost any of these words, I would not be able to.

[Allison Gill]

Most people don't know there's a B in dumb. Most people don't know that. Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's about all I've got. What an extraordinary kid.

[Allison Gill]

I wish they'd thrown dumb in there.

[Dana Goldberg]

Just about. There was some of these. I saw a bunch of other clips from the spelling bee. These kids are extraordinary, and they're lovely. And some of them are just. Well, they're just so happy to be there. They don't stay on topic, which is the cutest thing, and then they get the word, and either they get it or they don't. And then one of them who missed the word was like, you know, aloha almost also means goodbye.

[Allison Gill]

Right.

[Dana Goldberg]

And then he just said, goodbye, everybody, and. But they just thanked him for his heart and his joy and all of everything he brought to the spelling bee. These kids are extraordinary. That, by the way, was part of a spell off because two people were tied.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah, yeah. Sudden death. Right. And that's. I think, you know, a lot of people are like, oh, they just memorize these words. No, There is so much that goes in to understanding syntax, etymology, like word origin, you know, like what language it comes from, how to piece certain words together, what they. What the words mean. Like you said, I don't know what any of those words meant. Dana.

[Dana Goldberg]

Also, can we also point out that's all any of us do is memorize words. The only reason words are coming out of my mouth Right now is because I memorized what they mean, and I know how to put them together in a sentence. What are you talking about? Like, for anyone, that's like, all they do is memorize the words.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

Yeah.

[Dana Goldberg]

And then they spell them correctly.

[Allison Gill]

Yeah. That's interesting. But wow. Just amazing, kids. So congratulations to Shrey. And I thought it was just. I watched that, and my. Just my jaw was on the floor, so I wanted to share it with all of you. All right, everybody, that's Beans Talk. We're going to be back tomorrow, right?

[Dana Goldberg]

What is today?

[Allison Gill]

I don't even know. I'm so lost. But I'm so glad you're back.

[Dana Goldberg]

Me, too.

[Allison Gill]

Tuesday. Tomorrow.

[Dana Goldberg]

We're recording this on Sunday. Today is Monday as you're listening to this. So we will see you Tuesday.

[Allison Gill]

All right, everybody. Until then, I'm Allison Gill.

[Dana Goldberg]

I'm Dana Goldberg. And that indeed was Beans Talking.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

Hi, I'm Frances Collier. And I'm Angela V. Shelton. And we're Frangela. You know what you mean in your life. The Final Word podcast. Yes, you do. That's right. It is the final word on all things political and pop cultural, where we make real news, real funny, where we inspire you so you can resist. Subscribe and get a new episode of the Final Word podcast each week. It's the news we think you need to hear.

[Dana Goldberg]

That's right.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

We think you need to hear it.

[Allison Gill]

Okay. Yeah.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

It's what we say.

[Dana Goldberg]

So.

[Frangela (Frances Collier and Angela V. Shelton)]

That's right. And because all we do is give. Every Thursday, you can listen to our hysterical podcast, idiot of the Week. We round up the stupid. Because you know what? Somebody has to.

[Dana Goldberg]

Okay.

[Allison Gill]

All we do is give.