In late November, Anthony Scaramucci, a member of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team, told the British news program BBC Hardtalk that his boss was very supportive of gay rights. As an example, Scaramucci said that Elton John would be playing at Donald Trump’s inauguration.
However, a spokesman for the musician flatly denied Scaramucci’s claim, saying that Sir Elton would not be performing.
In the past, Trump has expressed positive feelings about Sir Elton. In 2005, he wrote a blog post on the now-defunct Trump University Web site, congratulating Sir Elton and his partner, David Furnish, on their civil partnership, which later became a marriage when gay marriage was legalized in England and Wales.
However, relations cooled during the campaign, when Sir Elton demanded that Trump stop using his songs “Rocket Man” and “Tiny Dancer” during his rallies. Sir Elton also openly supported Hillary Clinton’s campaign, holding expensive fundraisers for her and saying, “We need a humanitarian in the White House, not a barbarian.”
The Rolling Stones and Vince Neil have also been rumored to be performing at the Trump inaugural, and both have denied it. It is not clear who will actually be playing once Trump is sworn in on January 20.