As Donald Trump’s presence sparked protests across Southern California Wednesday, the polarizing GOP candidate also cost Jimmy Kimmel his musical guests for the night.
R&B singer The Weeknd and rapper Belly both canceled their performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” because Trump was set to appear on the episode, according to the Associated Press.
“I feel like the way I was raised was to be able to see through all the titles in this world — from religion to race,” Belly said in a statement. “I just didn’t want to feel like I was a part of a celebration for somebody who has beliefs that majority of us don’t agree with.”
A representative for “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” told TheWrap that the show had no comment on the matter.
The Weeknd won two Grammy Awards earlier this year, including best urban contemporary album for “Beauty Behind the Madness.” Belly has co-written many of The Weeknd’s hits, including “Earned It,” ”The Hills,” ”Into the Night” and “Often.”
The Weeknd appears on Belly’s song “Might Not,” which they were set to perform on Kimmel’s show.
Belly, who’s signed to Jay Z’s Roc Nation management, went on to say, “I’m here on a campaign of positivity and love and to contribute what I can to music. I create songs people go to sleep and wake up to, songs that they fall in love to.
“For me, being Muslim and being somebody that appreciates my access here in America, I love the fact that I’m able to be here. To play my part in this business is a privilege and a beautiful thing. The fact that I could lose that ability through the actions of someone such as Donald Trump isn’t right to me. At all.”
Belly shared an Oscar nomination for best original song with The Weeknd for “Earned It,” which appears on the “Fifty Shades of Grey” soundtrack.
Fortunately, if Trump is elected president, both artists have other countries to fall back on. Belly, whose real name is Ahmad Balshe, was born in Palestine, but is now based in Ottawa, Canada. While The Weeknd, a.k.a. Abęl Makkonen Tesfaye, is from Toronto.
Donald Trump's Biggest Feuds, Fights and Foes: From Rosie O' Donnell to Univision (Photos)
Donald Trump is a businessman who doesn't seem to be afraid to make enemies. Good thing for him, because his blustery threats and relentless business strategy have caused him to run afoul of politicians, celebrities, models and various minorities. Here's just a small sample of the people Trump has locked horns with over the years.
Getty
In 1973, the U.S. Justice Department sued Trump's real-estate company for allegedly refusing to rent apartments in New York and Virginia to African Americans. Trump counter-sued the DOJ for defamation, seeking $100 million in damages. Trump settled the case out of court, only to get sued again three years later on similar charges and be investigated by the New York Human Rights Commission.
Getty
Arguably no celebrity has been a bigger target for Trump than Rosie O' Donnell. Their feud began back in 2006, when O'Donnell called Trump a "snake-oil salesman on 'Little House On the Prairie'" on "The View," to which Trump said he would "look forward to taking lots of money from my nice fat little Rosie."
Vistalux
In the 80s, Trump was a popular target of the New York satirical publication Spy Magazine. After they called him a "short-fingered vulgarian" in 1988, Trump predicted the magazine's demise and said that his fingers "are long and beautiful, as, it has been well documented, are various other parts of my body.”
At the start of his campaign, Univision dropped Trump's Miss USA pageant from their programming after his comments about Mexican immigrants. Trump responded by suing the network for $500 million. The lawsuit was settled in February.
Another feud he had with Univision came during an August press conference, during which he ejected the network's main news anchor, Jorge Ramos. Ramos had attempted to ask Trump about his immigration policies, to which Trump removed Ramos for speaking out of turn. "Go back to Univision," Trump said during the confrontation.
Former Miss USA contestant Sheena Monnin accused the pageant, which Trump owns, of being rigged on NBC's "Today." Trump responded by filing and winning a defamation lawsuit against Monnin, forcing her to pay $5 million.
Trump repeatedly attacked Sen. Ted Cruz during the Republican Primary. The most infamous attack came on March 22, which he threatened to "spill the beans" on Cruz's wife on Twitter after a Super PAC affiliated with Cruz posted a picture of Trump's wife, Melania, from a nude GQ photo shoot.
In 1993, Trump's Atlantic City casino was falling behind the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, which is owned by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation. Trump's reaction to this? While testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, he claimed that "it’s obvious that organized crime is rampant on the Indian reservations" and that the Pequot "don't look like Indians to me."
Getty
In 2011, Trump repeatedly made demands for President Barack Obama's birth certificate, claiming he wasn't born in the United States. After Obama released the birth certificate, he made jokes at Trump's expense during the White House Correspondents Dinner.
Getty
In an interview with "Today," Cole Bolton, editor-in-chief of The Onion, revealed that they received a letter from Trump's lawyer threatening legal action for a satirical op-ed supposedly from Trump entitled, "When You're Feeling Low, Just Remember I'll Be Dead In 15 or 20 Years."
Trump also attempted to sue Bill Maher when the comedian joked on "Real Time" that if Trump could provide proof that his biological father is not an orangutan, he would donate $5 million to the charity of Trump's choice. Trump took him up on that offer, and then sued to try to get Maher to pay the money. The lawsuit was later withdrawn.
HBO
The success of "The Apprentice" inspired NBC to make a spinoff starring Martha Stewart, but Trump wrote an open letter blasting Stewart for the show failing to take off. "I knew it would fail as soon as I first saw it -- and your low ratings bore me out," he wrote.
As part of a May 15 front page New York Times article, former Miss Universe Alicia Machado accused Trump of using her weight problems as a media opportunity shortly after she won the Miss Universe pageant. "He's always been white trash, a racist, a horrible person," she said.
Getty
1 of 14
The GOP candidate was making enemies left and right long before this election cycle
Donald Trump is a businessman who doesn't seem to be afraid to make enemies. Good thing for him, because his blustery threats and relentless business strategy have caused him to run afoul of politicians, celebrities, models and various minorities. Here's just a small sample of the people Trump has locked horns with over the years.