A recent performance by Australian country star Keith Urban’s has ignited controversy on a couple of fronts — and it has nothing to do with him supposedly making song choices that allude to his shock divorce from Nicole Kidman.
It emerged on social media over the weekend that Urban performed on Saturday night at a private party at Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump’s Florida resort. Trump was seen at the party, seated next to its host, Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, according to video posted by a Florida-based realtor and others.
But, curiously, the singer chose to perform an acoustic cover of Chappell Roan’s gay bar-themed hit “Pink Pony Club,” widely considered to be an LGBTQ anthem because it describes a young woman who finds self-acceptance in a place where she feels free from her strict upbringing.
So, now questions are swirling around Urban’s decision to perform for Trump at Mar-a-Lago and his reasons for singing “Pink Pony Club.”
“Well….. I can’t help but wonder how @chappellroan feels about Keith Urban singing her song at Mar a Lago,” said the viral Instagram account @agirlhasnopresident. “Was that song choice ironic?”
Many people replying to the account’s question had some harsh words for Urban’s choice to perform for America’s controversial president at his Palm Beach, Florida, resort. “Now we know why Nicole Kidman is divorcing him,” said one person, while others stated, “What a (expletive) disappointment,” and “Keith performed for Trump? Gross.”
People magazine and other outlets said they reached out to Urban, asking about his reasons for performing at Mar-a-Lago. Meanwhile, those present appeared to have a good time, especially because of Urban. “Great food, lots of French fries. Amazing people and great entertainment by Keith Urban,” said the @tali.florida Instagram account.
People magazine reported that Urban also performed Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” for Trump, Pratt and the other party-goers. People magazine also said that Urban has performed “Pink Pony Club” during his recent concerts and that the singer said that he “almost cried” when he first heard the song.
“Who doesn’t wanna find a safe place, wherever that is?” Urban said, according to People. “You just wanna find your people — doesn’t matter what that is, just somewhere where you finally realize you belong there.”
Roan has said that she was inspired to write the song after arriving in Los Angeles from her hometown in Missouri and visiting the famous gay bar, The Abbey, in West Hollywood, Out magazine reported. She told Headliner magazine: “All of a sudden, I realized I could truly be any way I wanted to be, and no one would bat an eye. It was so different from home, where I always had such a hard time being myself and felt like I’d be judged for being different or being creative.”
During the 2024 election, Roan also revealed that she would not be voting for Trump, saying on TikTok: “(Expletive) Trump for (expletive) real.” According to People, she also said, “Yes, I will always question those in power and those making decisions over other people. And I will stand up for what’s right and what I believe in.”
Meanwhile, it’s likely that Urban was hired by the Australian billionaire to perform at his private party, though the singer is now facing some fierce backlash for that choice.
Pratt is chair of a multinational packaging company Pratt Industries and joined Mar-a-Lago after Trump was first elected president in 2017. That membership led to Pratt being in Trump’s company one evening, shortly after Trump left office in 2021, and hearing the president disclose classified information about U.S. nuclear submarines, according to a 2023 New York Times report. Pratt was susbsequently questioned by prosecutors working for special counsel Jack Smith. But the indictment against Trump, for allegedly mishandling classified documents, was dismissed by a federal judge in the months before the 2024 election.
During the election, Pratt donated $14 million to the Trump-supporting Make America Great Again Inc. super PAC. according to the New York Post. He donated another $1.1 million to the 47th president’s inaugural fund. In April, Pratt’s company announced it was committing $5 billion to support Trump’s push to bolster American manufacturing.