Nicole Scherzinger “deeply” apologized on Friday for seemingly endorsing Donald Trump after facing significant online backlash.
On Thursday, the singer reacted to an Instagram post by Russell Brand that promoted a red, MAGA-esque baseball cap that read “Make Jesus First Again” with the since-deleted comment, “Where do I get this hat?”
People quickly interpreted that as an endorsement of Trump, who ran on the slogan “Make America Great Again.” Brand, who was in the news this week for additional historic sexual assault allegations, has become a vocal Trump supporter.
In a statement posted to her Instagram story on Friday, Scherzinger wrote, “I deeply apologize for the hurt caused by my recent engagement with some social media posts. When I commented on these posts, I made the mistake of not realizing that they could be easily interpreted as being politically related and I apologize to anyone who understandably reached that conclusion.”
She continued, “Many presumptions are being drawn, which do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for. Many of the marginalized communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most. I stand with them, as I always have, throughout my life and career.”
The Pussycat Dolls singer went on to say, “Like so many others, in times of adversity and uncertainty, I turn to my faith. I believed that the posts I engaged with were about encouraging people to choose love and faith — ‘Putting Jesus first.’ For me, Christ embodies peace, compassion, hope and above all — unconditional love, especially for those who may feel it the least right now.”
Scherzinger concluded, “I come from a place of love, and I will always support values that bring us closer together. It’s so important we come together with compassion, and love one another more now than ever.”
The actress and singer is now appearing as Norma Desmond in a well-reviewed Broadway production of “Sunset Boulevard,” with speculation that she may land her first Tony nomination. More than one X user wrote on Thursday that the apparent revelation that she was a Trump fan dimmed their desire to catch her on Broadway.
“Finding out Nicole Scherzinger is a Trumper today doesn’t upset me as I don’t really care about her. But oddly, just like that, I no longer have any desire to see ‘Sunset Boulevard,’” one person tweeted.
For his part, Brand has denied the allegations of rape, sexual assaults and emotional abuse made by several women since last September.
However, when the extensive accusations were made as part of a Channel 4 investigation, the “Get Him to the Greek” star was quickly dropped by his agent and management company and the BBC removed all TV episodes in which he appeared from their platforms.
