Recommendations of the Editorial team
Sheryl Crow slammed Trump’s birthday party at the White House – including a UFC fight – in her Instagram story on Monday. “What happened on the White House lawn last night was disgraceful and beyond decency,” she wrote. “Powerful, rich people filled the field to watch a violent sport that ended with a vile and racist comment. All this while the average American can no longer afford health insurance, gas and general living expenses.”
The musician wrote that remaining silent about such behavior is tantamount to turning a blind eye to immoral conditions. “Don’t be fooled,” she wrote. “This administration is corrupt and doesn’t give a damn about the American people. All it cares about is making money at the expense and defiance of our democracy.”
“If we continue to support this kind of distraction from reality, we are no better than them,” she continued. “Let’s be better, America.”
UFC in the White House
The mixed martial arts fight took place on Sunday, Trump’s 80th birthday, and was marketed as UFC Freedom 250 – apparently part of the president’s celebration of the 250th birthday of the United States. The main event was a duel between Justin Gaethje and Ilia Topuria, preceded by several fights in different weight classes. The tone of the evening had a clearly prejudiced tone. Josh Hokit, a heavyweight, used his post-fight interview to say, “Michelle Obama is a man.” Moderator Joe Rogan simply smiled, as a video shows.
ROLLING STONE reported on the spectacle and its impact on Washington, DC, calling it Trump’s all-American dream. “[UFC-CEO und -Präsident Dana White und die UFC] use the liberating catharsis and humility of organized violence to show you a world where dreams come true,” wrote reporter Jack Crosbie. “To get there, all you have to do is sign up for Paramount+. Just invest in crypto, drive a Dodge truck, drink a Bud Light, vote for Donald Trump. The people who believe this, who drive for hours to watch fights on a giant TV in a muggy public park, aren’t stupid. As a whole, they’re not all tasteless or Ordinary. They are simply Americans living in a country that promises so much and delivers so little.”
Crow has long been outspoken about her disdain for Trump and his followers. Her song “The New Normal” from 2025 describes America as a dystopia, and she parted with her Tesla after Elon Musk was named head of the Department of Government Efficiency. In 2017, she told ROLLING STONE that she wrote the song “Heartbeat Away” in response to Trump’s campaign appearances. “I wrote this song before Trump got the nomination – it felt apocalyptic that people were seriously considering making a man like him the most powerful person in the world,” she said. “I had to go deep within myself and find a way to have compassion for the people in this country who are suffering and believe he cares about them.”