Christian singer who defied New Orleans COVID rules axed from ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’
Christian music singer Lauren Daigle has been removed from the lineup for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” after she performed in a New Orleans concert that broke local COVID-19 safety rules, the Louisiana lieutenant governor said.
Daigle, a Grammy-winning Christian pop singer, performed at a “Let Us Worship” concert Nov. 7 in New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell said. The event did not have a permit, and it violated COVID-19 public health guidelines, according to the mayor.
Cantrell wrote to Dick Clark Productions last week about her “urgent concerns”about Daigle appearing in the nationally televised event.
“Ms. Daigle cannot and should not be rewarded with national media exposure and a public spotlight,” Cantrell wrote. “She harmed our people, she risked the lives of our residents, and she strained our first responders in a way that is unconscionable — in the midst of a public health crisis.”
Lt. Gov. Bill Nungresser said Tuesday that Daigle was supposed to appear on ABC’s “New Year’s Rockin’ Eve” with a Dec. 31 event in New Orleans. Now the singer and the city won’t be featured, he said.
The decision angered Nungresser, who said Cantrell’s letter and phone calls will have a negative impact.
“In the long run, this action will not only hamper any efforts for New Orleans to recover from the pandemic, but also every city in the state which offered to host the event, and the state as a whole,” Nungresser stated Tuesday.
The New Year’s Eve concert featuring Daigle was set to be a “safe and socially-distanced celebration,” Nungresser said.
However, Daigle was not officially booked to appear on the broadcast, NOLA.com reported. Nungresser was reportedly lobbying for Daigle, a Louisiana native, to be included in the show.
Jennifer Lopez, Billy Porter and Cyndi Lauper are among the performers announced for “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve,” Billboard said.
Daigle, who has won two Grammy Awards and five Billboard Music Awards, has not commented on the event.
Other politicians in Louisiana also went against Cantrel. Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry pledged his support for Daigle in a letter to her Tuesday.
“Your rights to protest and worship are enshrined in the First Amendment. I vow to do everything in my power to protect them,” he wrote. “And I offer my assistance to work with more hospitable regions in our state, like your home Parish of Lafayette, if you and Dick Clark Productions wish to move the event.”
Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory also invited Daigle to perform there.
“One of our greatest shining talents is kept from a worldwide audience waiting for her message of hope,” Guillory wrote on Facebook. “And our most famous city is again left behind. It’s this kind of unthinking venom, lashing out without regard, that is destroying our country.”
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 6:41 AM with the headline "Christian singer who defied New Orleans COVID rules axed from ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’."