Vanilla Ice’s headline set at Donald Trump’s Freedom 250 State Fair was cancelled less than two hours before he was due on stage.
The ‘Ice Ice Baby’ rapper – real name Robert Van Winkle – had been due to perform as part of the troubled ‘I Love The 90s!’ concert at the National Mall in Washington, D.C. on Friday (June 26), but Freedom 250 announced in the late afternoon that the fair would be closed for the rest of the day “due to inclement weather”.
“The safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority,” the organisation wrote on X, adding that it was “actively monitoring conditions” and that the fair would reopen at 10am the following day.
The cancellation came just hours after Vanilla Ice had posted from the National Mall, calling the show a “once in a lifetime” moment.
“We’re about to have a great party tonight,” he said in a video from the site. “This is gonna be epic.”
⚠️ Due to inclement weather in the area, the Freedom 250 Great American State Fair and FIFA World Cup 2026™ Fan Zone will be closed for the rest of the day — Friday, June 26, 2026.
The safety of our guests, staff, and partners remains our top priority. We are actively…
— Freedom 250 (@Freedom250) June 26, 2026
The Great American State Fair is part of Freedom 250, the Trump-backed organisation set up to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence. The Freedom 250 concert series has been dogged by controversy, however, since it was announced last month, with a number of acts distancing themselves from the event.
Vanilla Ice was among the last remaining performers attached to the ‘I Love The 90s!’ line-up. Morris Day & The Time denied that they would be taking part shortly after the line-up was announced, while The Commodores, Young MC, Bret Michaels and Martina McBride were among those who later pulled out.
Young MC said the artists “were never told about any political involvement with the event” when they were booked, while McBride said she had been presented with the chance to perform at a “nonpartisan event” that “turned out to be misleading”.
Vanilla Ice, however, defended his decision to remain on the bill earlier this month, saying he did not see the show as political.
“It’s simple as a pimple for me, there’s nothing to it,” he said. “It’s the birthday of America. Two hundred and fifty years. It’s not anything to do with politics. I don’t know why they’re turning it into politics.”
He also said he would perform for anyone, adding: “Putin. Whoever. You want — I’d go to Iran. Don’t matter.”
Trump stepped in for a rally at the opening event on Wednesday (June 24), after much of the original concert line-up had fallen away. Opera singer Christopher Macchio also performed Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, despite the late singer’s estate objecting to the use of the song.
“The Leonard Cohen Estate has learned that the song ‘Hallelujah’ is to be performed at a Donald Trump rally on June 24,” a statement posted to Cohen’s official social media read before the event. “This use is not authorized, and the Estate does not support or approve of this or any similar usage.”
The Great American State Fair is scheduled to continue until July 10.