Singer Joy Villa Wears ‘Make America Great Again’ Grammys Dress

Joy Villa Instagram

The relatively unknown singer donned this controversial dress at the Grammys on Sunday night.

Joy Villa is a mostly unknown singer, though she did receive a nomination at the Grammys.  That was all the stage she needed to fly her political feelings.  The ‘Make America Great Again’ Grammys dress, which pretty much says it all, was designed by Andre Soriano.

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At the event itself, the dress was quickly drawing scowls and protests from attendees.  Most musicians are staunchly anti-Trump, and artists like A Tribe Called Quest, Busta Rhymes, Katie Perry, and Adele made that clear in front of millions of viewers.  Even Kanye West, once a pro-Trump activist, has abandoned the President after his first few weeks in office.

Kanye was not at the Grammy Awards.  (Neither was Frank Ocean, Macklemore, or Drake, but that’s another story.)

The dress move creates a complicated situation for Villa.  The staunch statement could gain her new fans, particularly from Trump-voting states.  But judging from the virulent reaction across Twitter, Instagram, and other outlets, Villa’s dress is mostly splitting an audience and shifting the focus away from her music.  Perhaps the ‘no press is bad press’ mantra gets a bit trickier in the Trump era.

Either way, Joy Villa is picking up where Kanye West left off.  Here’s what she posted this morning on her Instagram account, complete with full-body pics of the dress.

“Go big, or go home. You can either stand for what you believe or fall for what you don’t. Above all make a choice for tolerance and love.  Agree to disagree.  See the person over the politics, carry yourself with dignity, always.  Life is made to be lived, so go boldly and give no effs!”

Few other artists have gone so extremely pro-Trump.  Perhaps the only artist taking things a step further is Kid Rock, who released an expletive-laced, pro-Trump merchandise line with the help of Warner Bros. Records.  Others, including Chrisette Michelle, performed at Trump’s Inauguration despite howls of protests from fans and a canceled Netflix deal.