You’ve probably heard about it by now - Mayor Cantrell has written a letter to Dick Clark Productions asking that singer Lauren Daigle be immediately removed from the New Year’s Rockin’ Eve broadcast. The Mayor says she has "urgent concerns" about Daigle performing on December 31st at Jackson Square in New Orleans.
This is an ignorant move on Cantrell’s part, plain and simple.
Cantrell is very upset with Daigle because of her participation in Sean Feucht’s controversial French Quarter concert in November - but to the best of my knowledge, Cantrell is completely mischaracterizing the role Daigle played in that event. We could argue all day about whether or not that unpermitted religious concert was appropriate, but you don’t see this type of anger and angst directed at the summer social justice protests which were much larger and more disruptive. For whatever reason, this concert really got under the Mayor’s skin, and her letter seems to put the lion's share of responsibility on Lauren Daigle.
My understanding of Daigle’s story is that she was riding her bike with her boyfriend when they saw Feucht and the crowd praying, and they pulled over to join the crowd in prayer. She was recognized and invited to come onstage to sing, which she did and then went about her business. I’ve spent a lot of time looking at videos from the event to confirm that. But Cantrell still seems to think that Daigle knew this event was unpermitted.
We’re really going out on a limb here, cutting off our nose to spite our face, if we don’t have all the facts. Why wouldn’t you take the time to discuss this matter with Daigle and get her side and make this a win-win, instead of the lose-lose we have now?
Cantrell told Lt. Governor Nungesser that she didn't want Daigle performing in New Orleans, and Nungesser accommodated her wish by trying to move the event across the river to Gretna, using the city skyline as a backdrop. And of all the money spent, not a single dollar would come from the city. When Cantrell found out about that plan, that’s when she wrote to Dick Clark Productions to blow the whole thing up. She doesn’t want Daigle performing anywhere at all. Must be nice to sit at that podium and assassinate Daigle’s character that way, someone who has raised and given a lot of money away to non-profits. She’s thought very highly of by any number of people in our state, including the Governor and First Lady.
If your number one goal is to foster an environment of success here, why would you want to draw attention to New Orleans in this way? Going after Daigle without even hearing her side of the story? If you want to be mad at Sean Feucht, that’s okay, but don’t take it out on Lauren Daigle! I have not seen anything that suggests she was part of the financing, planning, or marketing of this concert. She was just out there sharing her faith with others. Maybe it wasn’t the right thing to do to accept that invitation to get up on stage and sing, but who’s perfect? Is it worth Louisiana losing out on the entire New Years Eve production just to punish her for that?
Sometimes you’ve got to look beyond yourself and look at what’s best for the city. You have people trying to promote you, you look the gift horse in the mouth and then blow it up. Blow it up for the whole state. Why would Dick Clark Productions even want to come back to New Orleans after this?
Think about how many more people are going to be celebrating New Years at home this year, watching the countdown. That’s an awful lot of exposure that we are missing out on, a huge missed opportunity to tell our story, and we just gave it away because Lauren Daigle sang one song?