The Rockettes Trump Inauguration Saga Keeps Getting Weirder

The so-called 'A' list celebrities are all wanting tixs to the inauguration, but look what they did for Hillary, NOTHING. I want the PEOPLE!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)December 23, 2016

The above Tweet is hilarious and sort of sad, because it seems patently not true, at least based on the celebrities declining to perform at Trump's inauguration, who are legion. Barack Obama had Aretha Franklin at his first inauguration and Beyonce at his second. Trump's inauguration will feature Jackie Evancho, who finished second on the America's Got Talent, and the Rockettes. I present this information with all due respect. I'm sure whoever performs at Trump's inauguration will be excellent professional entertainers, but they're also not Beyonce.

What's more, the Rockettes don't even want to be there! One of the stories of the upcoming Trump inauguration has been what, exactly, will happen with the Rockettes. Here's a brief timeline of what's happened so far:

• December 22nd: Rockettes management announces the company will perform. Immediately, there's an online backlash against the move. One dancer posted an Instagram rant (now deleted), saying the decision to perform for "a man that stands for everything we're against is appalling."

• December 23rd: The union gets involved.

• December 27th: The Rockettes meet with James L. Dolan, the CEO of Madison Square Garden, the parent company of the Rockettes and the New York Knicks, Rangers, and Liberty.

• January 3rd: Marie Claire publishes a piece that includes quotes from Dolan that were apparently recorded in secret during the December 27th meeting. Dolan's comments were largely about money. He spoke of his considerable investment in the Rockettes and of the need to sell tickets, dismissing the notion that associating the dance troupe with Trump would be bad for business: "A good portion of people voted for this person. Hopefully they will like our brand. If 1% of 1% of them come to our show, we're going to do great." The MSG company immediately puts out a press release, condemning the secret recording and the publication of quotes taken from it. It reads, in part: "Everyone in the meeting had the chance to speak their mind in a safe setting, and many did. Her secret recording was deceitful and cowardly and has betrayed all of her fellow Rockettes. Posting this story is beneath the ethical standards of Hearst. We are deeply disappointed in their decision to post this story."

The upshot of all this is that the Rockettes now have more publicity than they've had in decades, coming at the cost of being more politicized than ever. The controversy seems unimportant at first glance, but if you look harder, it's tailor-made for our era—a reminder of just how divisive Trump is, and how offensive he can be to women in particular. The event is not mandatory for the Rockettes, but according to Marie Claire, none of the women of color in the dance troupe have opted in (understandably), which adds race to the ongoing controversy.* Oh, and the women most vocally protesting their potential association with Trump are being told they don't have much say in the matter by their boss, who happens to be a man.

Welcome to 2017.

*Correction 1/4/2017: This story originally stated that full-time Rockettes were obliged to participate. We have corrected the error. A MSG rep tells VICE Sports that "we had more than enough women sign-up for this event than there were slots available."