WASHINGTON, D.C. — Several artists, including Young MC and Martina McBride, withdrew from performing at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair, saying they were misled about the event’s nonpartisan nature. Their departures follow public statements that they had been assured the celebration would be politically neutral.

“The artists were never told about any political involvement with the event,” rapper Young MC wrote in a social media post on Wednesday. Country singer Martina McBride said she “was assured this was a nonpartisan event that was meant to celebrate ALL 50 states. Yesterday things started changing and what we were told is, in fact, not what is happening.”

Freedom 250, established during the Trump administration as a public-private partnership to fund and plan events for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, describes itself as a nonpartisan nonprofit. A spokesperson for the organization, Rachel Reisner, said, “Freedom 250 is a nonpartisan organization singularly focused on celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and bringing Americans together around this historic milestone. From the outset, our work has reflected the unifying spirit of this moment.”

Freedom 250 is not connected to America250, the nonprofit supporting the congressionally established U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission. Both groups say they aim to host nonpartisan commemorations, but only the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission is subject to congressional oversight. Freedom 250 partners with federal agencies but operates without independent oversight and does not disclose its donors, though it has named John Deere and Northrop Grumman as strategic partners.

A 2016 law created the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is led by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and required to submit annual reports to Congress. Separately, a Republican-backed legislative package earmarked $150 million for 250th anniversary events, to be distributed by the Interior Department, though the law does not name either America250 or Freedom 250. America250 lists corporate sponsors such as Amazon, Boeing, and Comcast NBCUniversal on its website.

Democratic senators, led by Sen. Adam Schiff of California, have expressed concerns about how funding is being allocated between the two organizations.