Taylor Dayne Defends Performance at Maskless Mar-a-Lago Party

Fans of Taylor Dayne castigated the '80s and '90s pop singer for performing at a maskless New Year's Eve party hosted by President Trump at his Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago.

While Trump ended up skipping the party, his numerous right-wing friends and family members were there, including Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani. In addition to being held for people advocating for a domestic coup, the event violated Palm Beach County's mask order. The order requires those inside a business to wear masks when social distancing is not possible; Florida state Rep. Omari Hardy is calling for the club to be fined and possibly shut down.

Guests paid up to $1,200 to attend the event, which featured faded artists like Vanilla Ice. Also appearing, besides Ice and Dayne, was Berlin, a band that has performed at numerous LGBTQ+ Pride events. Berlin's lead singer, Terri Nunn, has not responded to criticism over her choice to perform at Mar-a-Lago. (Updated, 9 p.m. Eastern: Nunn apologized to the LGBTQ+ community for her performance.)

Dayne has also headlined several Pride events and has spoken about her attachment to her gay fan base. Trump and his minions are about as far from LGBTQ+ allies as you can get, and his administration has targeted the community throughout the past four years, including banning trans people from the military and arguing in federal lawsuits that antigay discrimination should remain legal.

Responding to a critical tweet from gay author Josh Sabarra, Dayne tweeted (and since deleted) the following typo-laden message: "I'm saddened by all this. I have a 30 yr careers s that many diverse friendships .and I try to stay non political and non judgmental and not preach . I sing from my heart purely and from Source. I wish for all to be who they need to be .. and find their way."

Watch Dayne's Pride message, recorded this summer, below.