--- title: Rockettes Divided Over Trump Inauguration Performance description: Find out why the Rockettes are still divided about performing at Donald Trump's inauguration. canonical: https://time.com/4639361/rockettes-inauguration-performance/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-01-19T17:49:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:04:26.697Z og:title: Rockettes Are Still Divided About Performing for Donald Trump og:description: ‘It has just caused a real rift in the company' og:url: https://time.com/4639361/rockettes-inauguration-performance/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbca7f75c455103d/6988b6362dce01394d9ebf43/rockettes-donald-trump-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: "Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes" Opening Night og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Rockettes Are Still Divided About Performing for Donald Trump twitter:description: ‘It has just caused a real rift in the company' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbca7f75c455103d/6988b6362dce01394d9ebf43/rockettes-donald-trump-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Rockettes Are Still Divided About Performing for Donald Trump > Sponsored content. 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It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=adba6078-dc37-4e8c-9285-5bc36ca4c51a&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1)  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 19, 2017 5:49 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: The Rockettes perform on stage during the "Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes" Opening Night at Radio City Music Hall on November 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage) NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 15: The Rockettes perform on stage during the "Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes" Opening Night at Radio City Music Hall on November 15, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage) Monica Schipper—WireImage  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney Jan 19, 2017 5:49 PM UTC The Rockette ranks are divided about performing for President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, [the New York _Times_ reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/arts/dance/rockettes-inauguration-trump.html). After the announcement that the famed New York dance group [would perform](http://time.com/4617033/rockettes-donald-trump-inauguration/) for the president-elect, dancer Phoebe Pearl [shared her disappointment](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/trump-inauguration-rockette-fears-being-fired-refusing-perform-959003) in a now-deleted social media post about having to dance for Trump. Her message garnered support from [other dancers](http://www.marieclaire.com/politics/a24421/rockette-donald-trump-inauguration/) and the general public. After reports that the Rockettes were forced to perform at the event, Madison Square Garden Company, which [owns the Rockettes](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2016/12/24/rockettes-arent-being-forced-to-perform-at-trumps-inauguration-officials-say/?utm%5Fterm=.413af1d97513), said that the performance was voluntary. The _Times_ scored the first interview with Pearl, who said she stands by her decision to speak out — and revealed she’s since left the organization to appear in film and television. “People have been calling me courageous,” Pearl said at an event attended by the Times. “But I don’t see it that way. I’m just standing up for human rights.” Former Rockette Rhonda Malkin, who previously worked as a personal trainer for Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, said Pearl made a “real risk” by straying, but added that a number of current Rockettes were upset when they were initially told that they’d have to perform for Trump. “I’ve also heard the women of color are very upset. From what I have heard, it has just caused a real rift in the company,” Malkin said. But other former Rockettes think that the dancers should stay silent. Rockette Alumnae Association President Patty DeCarlo Grantham told the _Times_ that some alumnae of the organization are frustrated that some Rockettes are resisting performing. “So many people wrote to me and said, ‘I feel so ashamed about what’s going on,’” Grantham told the _Times_. “We feel like it’s a great honor to be asked to dance.” A Madison Square Garden Company spokesperson declined to comment to the _Times_. \[[The New York _Times_](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/18/arts/dance/rockettes-inauguration-trump.html)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4639361/rockettes-inauguration-performance/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4639361/rockettes-inauguration-performance/"},"headline":"Rockettes Are Still Divided About Performing for Donald Trump","datePublished":"2017-01-19T17:49:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:04:26.697Z","description":"‘It has just caused a real rift in the company'","url":"https://time.com/4639361/rockettes-inauguration-performance/","keywords":["motto"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbca7f75c455103d/6988b6362dce01394d9ebf43/rockettes-donald-trump-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbca7f75c455103d/6988b6362dce01394d9ebf43/rockettes-donald-trump-inauguration.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes\" Opening Night","caption":"\"Christmas Spectacular Starring The Radio City Rockettes\" Opening Night","creditText":"Monica Schipper—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4639361/rockettes-inauguration-performance/","name":"Rockettes Are Still Divided About Performing for Donald Trump"}}]}] ```