Following her statement, Trump crony and former Kennedy Center head Richard Grenell, took a swipe at McBride retweeting her statement and adding the comment: “You’ve always been a woke Lefty.” A Trump appointee, Grenell served as interim executive director and oversaw the Kennedy Center’s transition to the Trump Kennedy Center — a move that was widely criticized and set off dozens of artists to pull out of performing at the once venerable institution and he even threatened to sue one artist for nixing their concert.

After news got out that the concert series — which is set to take place between June 25 and July 10 — is part of an initiative planned by the Trump administration, fans took to social media to criticize the artists on the roster for performing. Morris Day, leader of the Time, announced that a performance by his funk ensemble was “a no for me,” and others soon followed suit, including William King of the Commodores and Young MC. The rapper told VIBE that he “had no clue it was considered a ‘Trump-backed’ event, so that was new to me.”

In McBride’s message, the artist wrote, “I’ve spent my entire career singing songs about real people with real issues. I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to be a voice for those who have felt like they didn’t have one. It greatly upsets me that any fan who has been moved by my music may now feel like I’m abandoning the meaning behind those songs. I assure you, that is not the case.”