Sunset Blvd Star Faces Backlash For Post That Many Took as a Pro-Trump Comment

Amid stellar reviews and Tony Award buzz for her performance as Norma Desmond in “Sunset Blvd.,” Nicole Scherzinger–formerly of the Pussycat Dolls–has become the subject of much controversy within the theater community, after comments and “likes” seeming to support a Donald Trump-style hat surfaced online.

The comment that first got people’s attention was on an Instagram post from Russell Brand. The photo featured Brand holding a red baseball cap reading “Make Jesus First Again,” and Scherzinger commented on the post “Where do I get this hat!!!?” along with the hands praying emoji and a heart emoji. The hat looks identical to the standard “Make America Great Again” trademark hat of President-elect Donald Trump–aside from the text differences.

The comment has since been deleted, and Scherzinger put a response on her Instagram story a day after it started gaining traction. By nature of it being an Instagram story, the statement only stayed on her account for 24 hours.

“When I commented on these posts, I made the mistake of not realizing that they could be easily interpreted as being politically related and I apologize to anyone who understandably reached that conclusion,” Scherzinger’s statement reads. “Many presumptions are being drawn, which do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for ... I believed that the posts I engaged with were about encouraging people to choose love and faith — ‘putting Jesus first.’”

While this one comment—one that many could try to explain away, to varying levels of success—kicked off the scrutiny, it turns out there have been other similar instances, both recently and over the last couple of years, showing that this is not a one-off for the actress, who has voiced conservative views in the past.

For instance, some online searches found articles from a few years back wherein Scherzinger talks about being staunchly anti-abortion. An article in The Daily Mail reveals that she almost turned down the role of Penny in the 2017 reboot of “Dirty Dancing” specifically because the character gets an abortion during the story.

“So I got the role and I almost didn’t take it because I didn’t want to promote abortion, because my character has an abortion,” she is quoted as having said. She discussed in it that she and her family decided she should take the part so people “can learn from you know her [Penny’s] ways and I can be a positive influence.”

To add to this, screenshots showing her having liked at least two other posts which praise Donald Trump have been making the rounds. However, it seems she may have un-liked the posts (they may have been the others she referred to in her statement). It is also possible that the screenshots were doctored.

Of course, in many situations, differing political beliefs do not necessarily mean people have to be enemies. However, to many — especially since this all came out immediately after the 2024 presidential election—support for anti-choice ideologies and support for Trump (both of which Scherzinger has demonstrated) can be seen as a bridge too far in the close knit and left leaning theatrical world.

“I think that it is a very big disappointment to the entire LGBT community, the entire female community of Broadway, and entire Broadway in general, because Broadway is a very liberal place, we’re very accepting,” said theater and pop culture influencer Talia Lifschutz. “There are, like, things within reason, and it’s OK to even like certain Republican candidates. In fact, most of them are not nearly as ridiculous as Trump is. But I feel like Trump is the exception. And I feel like if you like Trump, you can’t really, like, thrive in the theater world around a bunch of people that don’t like him. You’re kind of like a black sheep now.”

This is not to say she is without defenders in the simmering controversy.

“People, I think, are making a lot about this, when she wanted to know–cause she liked the hat,” said Whoopi Goldberg in a segment about the controversy on “The View,” on Nov. 11 after discussing Scherzinger’s strong commitment to her religion. “Why do you think people can’t see what she was commenting on?”

Scherzinger currently leads the extremely well-received revival of “Sunset Blvd.” at the St. James Theatre, leaving some Broadway fans conflicted because they want to see the show, but they do not want to see its star. The solution some have come up with is to try to only go see the show on Tuesdays, since that is Scherzinger’s off-day, and Mandy Gonzalez goes on in her place.

“I feel like with Norma Desmond, that typically would be someone who I’d want to see Nicole and only Nicole as,” Lifschutz said. “But now that this whole shindig is going down, I actually think that this is making me a little bit more open-minded, and giving me an opportunity to experience an understudy as a main role.”

Ultimately, regardless of how genuine Scherzinger’s response was, regardless of how she voted, and regardless of what her beliefs actually are, her reputation has taken a major hit.

“It’s hard to think of a worse look for a Broadway leading lady than appearing to simultaneously support Donald Trump, Christian hegemony and Russell Brand,” posted Adam Feldman, Time Out New York theater editor and Drama Circle president (whose shared screenshot of Scherzinger’s comment has at least 1.6 million views on X).

“Is it the worst thing? Did she commit a murder? No,” Lifschutz said. “But it was definitely highly insensitive, not thought out, and not a smart thing to do.”