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LL Cool J, Jazmine Sullivan Cancel Philadelphia Festival Gig in Solidarity With Striking City Workers

LL Cool and Jazmine Sullivan canceled their appearances at a Fourth of July festival in Philadelphia in solidarity with striking city workers.

Both the rapper and the Philadelphia-born R&B singer were scheduled to perform at the Wawa Welcome America Festival on Friday, but hours before the performance, LL Cool J announced in a video statement on social media that he would forego the gig in support of the 10,000 city employees — ranging from 911 dispatchers to trash collectors to water department workers, the Associated Press reports — who walked off the job Tuesday in an effort to secure better pay and benefits. “I understand there’s a lot going on in Philadelphia right now, and I never, ever, ever wanna disappoint my fans, especially in Philadelphia…but there’s absolutely no way that I can perform, cross a picket line and pick up money when I know that people are out there fighting for a living wage. Today I choose not to perform at the Wawa Welcome America concert and stand with Philly’s DC33 until the city and union find a way to bring fair living wages to our working class.

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