Jennifer Holliday drops out of Trump inauguration event

Broadway singer Jennifer Holliday has announced that she is dropping out of Donald Trump's inauguration event, a day after his team said that she would perform at the concert.

The Grammy and Tony award winning star, who is best known for her role in the Broadway show Dreamgirls, apologised to her LGBT fans in an open letter published by entertainment website The Wrap.

She said: "I sincerely apologise for my lapse of judgment, for being uneducated on the issues that affect every American at this crucial time in history and for causing such dismay and heartbreak to my fans."

"I was honestly just thinking that I wanted my voice to be a healing and unifying force for hope through music to help our deeply polarised country. Regretfully, I did not take into consideration that my performing for the concert would actually instead be taken as a political act against my own personal beliefs and be mistaken for support of Donald Trump and Mike Pence."

"Please know that I HEAR YOU and I feel your pain. The LGBT community was mostly responsible for birthing my career and I am deeply indebted to you ... You have loved me faithfully and unconditionally and for so many years you provided me with work even though my star had long since faded."

She came under severe criticism from her fans when it was announced that she was set to perform at an event at the Lincoln Memorial on the night of 19 January called Make America Great Again! Welcome Celebration! She was scheduled to appear alongside country music star Toby Keith, rock band 3 Doors Down and actor Jon Voight.

In an interview to the New York Times, she said: "I'm singing on the Mall for the people. I don't have a dog in this fight. I'm just a singer, and it's a welcome concert for the people on the Mall."

Before Holliday, several A-list stars including Celine Dion, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli and Garth Brooks declined to take part in the inauguration.