Report: Lauren Daigle Wasn’t Scheduled to Play Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve Celebration

UPDATE: A report from NOLA.com says Lauren Daigle was not scheduled to play Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Celebration on ABC. Turns out, according to Louisiana Radio Network, when Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser found out Daigle would not be performing on the show he pulled a state contract helping to finance the event. Nungesser wanted the Christian singer to be on the show as she is an ambassador for his tourism department.

The city of New Orleans will now pick up the cost and the Fleur Dis Lis will still drop in New Orleans on ABC on New Year's Eve.

New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell's dispute with Daigle stems from the Lafayette native's involvement in a Christian concert in the French Quarter that was considered in violation of COVID regulations set by city and state officials.

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Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser says Lauren Daigle and the state of Louisiana have been taken off of Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Celebration on ABC and he says New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell's actions cost the Crescent City and every city in Louisiana a chance to host the event.

“When Mayor Cantrell’s personal feelings toward Lauren Daigle being tapped to promote her city came to light, we attempted to move the safe, and socially-distanced, celebration to a location outside of New Orleans and Orleans Parish, even offering to hold the event on a riverboat in Gretna with New Orleans still serving as the backdrop," said Nungesser in a press release. "It was then Mayor Cantrell took the issue to the next level, writing letters and making phone calls to Dick Clark Productions and ABC. The result of her actions was a decision by Dick Clark Productions to pull Lauren Daigle from the lineup and any celebration from Louisiana to be broadcast worldwide. In the long run, this action will not only hamper any efforts for New Orleans to recover from the pandemic, but also every city in the state which offered to host the event, and the state as a whole.”

Daigle's hometown mayor, Lafayette Mayor-President Josh Guillory, was the latest elected official to voice his support for the popular Christian artist, saying on Facebook:

"We would be honored to host Lauren Daigle in Lafayette to ring in 2021. It would be a truly great way to safely say goodbye to 2020."

Attorney General Jeff Landry pledged his support to the Grammy-winning Daigle on Monday while he expressed his displeasure with Cantrell's recent actions.

In the press release, Nungesser pointed out Daigle's work with the state in promoting it since 2018 as a brand ambassador. That included numerous personal appearances promoting Louisiana, as well as a social media campaign and ad campaigns that ran nationwide and online.

"To have invested so much into the promotion of our great state, along with promotion of the city of New Orleans, and see one of the biggest opportunities squandered over what can only be described as a retaliation is beyond belief," said Nungesser.