CeCe Winans Says Appearance In Trump Approved COVID-19 Wasn't "Political"

Source: Paras Griffin / Getty

Celebrated gospel singer CeCe Winans was the topic of controversy over the weekend after it was announced she will appear alongside other notable celebrities in a Department of Health and Human Services ad campaign to address how the Trump administration has handled the ongoing novel coronavirus.

Winans will reportedly be featured as well actor Dennis Quaid, Dr. Fauci and musician Garth Brooks. The campaign will include a series of sit down interviews between Trump administration officials and celebrities, which airs before Election Day on November 3.

Around $250 million in taxpayer dollars was allocated towards the $300 million campaign, according to POLITICO.

Most of social media was clearly in confusion about Winans’ participation, the most obvious reason being that Trump has made it clear that he doesn’t care about the country’s well-being, let alone a virus that has disproportionately affected Black community members in America.

Not to mention that last week’s appearance at the Supreme Court to pay respects to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg marked one of the first public occurrences where Trump actually wore a mask. Mask wearing is heralded as a way to create herd immunity, but has been largely denied by Trump and his supporters.

Winans posted a message to her followers on Twitter, downplaying accusations that her appearance in the ad was an endorsement for Trump.

“I was asked a couple of weeks ago to do an interview with Surgeon General Jerome Adams about the coronavirus. And this interview stresses how important it is for everyone to wear a mask and it also gives us other instructions on how to get on the other side of this pandemic,” Winans said. “It was not political at all.”

“We have lost so many lives because of COVID-19. Let’s all do everything we can so we won’t lose anymore,” she concluded.

But the reactions continue to pour in with disappointment that the singer would participate at all, especially with Trump’s violent rhetoric aimed towards the Black community domestically and abroad.

To date over 200,000 people in America have died from COVID-19.

While she may not be voting for Trump, the participation in the ad just wasn’t a good look. Periodt!