Zac Brown has defended his decision to perform at the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.
The country music star insisted on the latest edition of The Pat McAfee Show that his attendance was about “patriotism, not politics”.
“Man, I’m there for the troops, man. I’m there to honour America,” the Chicken Fried singer shared.
Brown is slated to perform the national anthem at the martial arts event.
The seven-match card will be held in a specially-constructed fight arena on the South Lawn of the White House on 14 June as part of President Donald Trump’s 250th anniversary celebrations for the US.
Trump is expected to attend UFC Freedom 250, which will be headlined by a lightweight championship bout between Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje.
The staging of UFC Freedom 250 has come with some controversy, with Trump’s opponents criticising the appropriateness of staging an MMA fight at the White House.
Brown, who is also expected to headline a fan fest during Freedom 250 weekend, stressed that his sole focus is honouring the 8,000 active service members expected to attend.
“I mean, f**k all the division. I don’t believe in that,” Brown told McAfee. “I love this country. I love all the people that have sacrificed so that I can live my American dream and that everyone that lives here gets a chance to do that if they work hard and make the right decisions. So it doesn’t have a place in politics for me.”
