Nicole Scherzinger apologizes after backlash for engaging with controversial political posts

It started with Nicole Scherzinger commenting on a social media post from legally embattled comedian Russell Brand. He showed off a red baseball cap that read, “Make Jesus First Again.” While she has since deleted the remark, Scherzinger initially wrote, “Where do I get this hat!!!?”

Then the backlash came for the singer and actress, who’s currently starring in Sunset Boulevard on Broadway, as people interpreted the comment as a show of support for former and future President Donald Trump, who was re-elected this week.

Scherzinger apologized Friday.

“I deeply apologize for the hurt caused by my recent engagement with some social media posts,” Scherzinger said in a statement posted to her Instagram stories. “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.”

She continued: “Many presumptions are being drawn, which do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for. Many of the marginalized communities feeling hurt and concerned by the results of the presidential election are people I care about most. I stand with them, as I always have, throughout my life and career. If you know me, you know that.”

Scherzinger also said she turns to her faith “in times of adversity and uncertainty,” adding, “I believed that the posts I engaged with were about encouraging people to choose love and faith — ‘putting Jesus first.’ For me Christ embodies peace, compassion, hope, and — above all — unconditional love, especially for those who may feel it the least right now.”

In addition to Scherzinger’s comment on Brand’s post, screenshots recently circulated online which appeared to show that she liked an Instagram post by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in which he expressed support for Trump’s bid to return to the White House.

A 2016 interview the former Pussycat Doll did with The Daily Mail also resurfaced. Scherzinger said at the time that she nearly turned down her role in ABC’s 2017 Dirty Dancing remake, in which she played the role of Penny. The character, portrayed by Cynthia Rhodes in the original 1987 film, undergoes an illegal abortion that goes wrong and leaves her unable to dance with partner Johnny (Patrick Swayze in the original, Colt Prattes in the remake). The storyline is not only very much of the 1960s era, but it’s the impetus for Baby (Jennifer Grey/Abigail Breslin) to partner up (and eventually fall in love) with Johnny.

“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,” Scherzinger said in the interview. She explained that “my Papa’s a bishop and my family’s really hardcore against abortion.”

Scherzinger said she ultimately took the part in the hopes of helping others: “I was like, hopefully they can learn from, you know, her ways, and I can be a positive influence.”