Update: This story spread pretty quickly throughout the internet, so fast that Vince Neil had to issue another statement to say he was "uninvited." Or perhaps he was never invited at all? Earlier today, Billboard ran story featuring a quote from Neil saying he was to play the inauguration. But quickly after the story spread, Neil he released a video to TMZ, which Blabbermouth kindly transcribed.
Here's the video:
Neil comes up with this lovely story about how he was asked "no matter who won" saying:
"Well, here's the thing. I was asked to do the inauguration, like, two months ago, no matter who won. We had no idea, obviously, who was gonna win. And we said, 'Absolutely,' so I wanted to play the inauguration. We gave all of our passports — of the band and crew — to Secret Service, [and] they went through everything. And so, as far as I knew from that, we were playing. We were invited, and then, it turns out, when the Republicans won, we were uninvited. "
This sounds a bit ridiculous. What is this overseeing organization that curates the party who would invite him in the first place?
"I didn't know about the Democratic part of asking us to play. I assumed what it was was it doesn't matter who won, it's still a big party, right? But I guess it's not. I guess there's more politics involved in the bands playing than I really thought there was.
Neil added: "I just found out about this today when all this stuff kind of came out that we were playing. I said, 'What happened?' I asked my guys. And they said, 'Well, no.' Once Trump won, it's all politics. And I don't know who's playing Trump's party, but God bless 'em."
Does Hillary Clinton's campaign, which had the likes of Bruce Springsteen perform sound like the type of campaign that would book the guy who was famous for singing "Girls! Girls! Girls"? I guess she did have Jay-Z hold a rally, and his lyrics aren't exactly pro-feminist, but at least Jay is relevant. To be fair, it does seem like the venn diagram between Vince Neil fans and Trump supporters would likely be greater than one with Clinton supporters.
The question remains: who is it that actually invited Vince Neil to this inauguration and why didn't Billboard check with somebody in Trump's campaign before running this story?
Original story follows…
Future The Apprentice contestant and former Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil, who also once literally got away with murder, has confirmed that he will be performing at Donald Trump's Presidential inauguration ceremony in Washington D.C. on January 20.
Neil confirmed the gig to Billboard saying:
“The promoters asked if I was available, and I said yes,” Neil reveals. “So we sent all of the band’s passports to the Secret Service so everybody can get in, and all of the crew people, not knowing who was winning. But we were already scheduled to play.”
I guess Bret Michaels was too busy that night. Neil added he will be performing with his solo band. Let's just hope Neil doesn't perform the national anthem, because we've already heard what a trainwreck that sounds like.
Coincidentally, Billboard also asked about the rumor that popped up that Neil was at the third Presidential debate and shook Donald Trump's hand, a rumor that ended up being false. Neil says even his mom bought it:
“My mom called me, and said, ‘I saw you shaking Donald Trump’s hand!’ [But] I wasn’t there! … The funny thing is I was invited to go and I just decided not to and watch it from home,” he says. “I think just because there was a guy with long blonde hair from Las Vegas, it’s got to be Vince Neil, right? ‘Hey, Vince, you shaved!’ Not really.”
This is the photo in question:
