Singer and X Factor runner-up Rebecca Ferguson announced Monday that she would accept an invitation to sing at Donald Trump's inauguration if she got to perform "Strange Fruit," the BBC reports. That might not go over so well with Trump's team, though — "Strange Fruit" was originally recorded as a protest song by Billie Holiday, and takes its words from an Abel Meeropol poem that powerfully refers to the lynching of African Americans as "black bodies swinging in the southern breeze."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 27, 2024Cartoons Saturday's cartoons - natural gas, fundraising with Ted Cruz, and more
-
Aid to Ukraine: too little, too late?Talking Point House of Representatives finally 'met the moment' but some say it came too late
-
5 generously funny cartoons on the $60 billion foreign aid packageCartoons Artists take on Republican opposition, aid to Ukraine, and more
-
OJ Simpson, star athlete tried for murder, dead at 76Speed Read The former football hero and murder suspect lost his battle with cancer
-
Momofuku's 'Chili Crunch' trademark uproarSpeed Read The company's attempt to own the sole rights has prompted backlash
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain PrizeSpeed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 winsspeed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughterspeed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopicsSpeed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 GrammysSpeed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
