Nicole Scherzinger is facing criticism after she left a comment on an Instagram photo of Russell Brand rocking a MAGA-inspired cap.
The drama started after Brand posted a photo on Nov. 6 of himself holding a red hat that read “Make Jesus First Again” while celebrating Donald Trump’s presidential election win over Kamala Harris.
According to BuzzFeed, Scherzinger wrote in a since-deleted comment on Brand’s post, “Where do I get this hat!!!?”
Social media users on X, formerly called Twitter, accused the former “Pussycat Dolls” singer of subtly supporting Trump and his controversial “Make America Great Again” red baseball caps that have become ubiquitous among his supporters.
Fans also slammed Scherzinger for interacting with Brand, who has been accused of raping, sexual assaulting and abusing four women between 2006 and 2013 at the height of his fame. He has denied all claims made against him.
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Scherzinger, who campaigned for Barack Obama during his 2008 presidential run, reacted to the backlash by issuing a lengthy apology on her Instagram story.
“I deeply apologize for the hurt caused by my recent engagement with some social media posts. 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 wrote on Friday, Variety reported.
The artist added that the “presumptions” from critics “do not reflect who I am, what I stand for, or who I voted for.”
The “Sunset Boulevard” star previously caused a stir for liking a Sept. 6 post by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., which read, “Yes, @russellbrand, @tuckercarlson, I will restore free speech, end the forever wars and protect children’s health once we get @realdonaldtrump back in the White House.”
Scherzinger’s engagement with the post came after Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic and known purveyor of debunked conspiracy theories, said Trump “promised” him “control of the public health agencies” in the president-elect’s second administration.