Administration’s Favorite Z-Lister Denies It’s Her A-List Connections That Landed Her the Freedom 250 Gig

The long-dreaded shitstorm that is Freedom 250 officially kicked off on Wednesday, and while the administration initially seemed to suffer a flurry of rejections by A-, B- and D-listers declining to perform at “Great American State Fair,” all can be rest assured… because the White House managed to tap its favorite Z-lister to save the day. 

That’s right, the 16-day celebration leading up to the 4th of July was commenced this week by none other than Alexis Wilkins singing the Star Spangled Banner, in a performance whose ranking sat somewhere between Fergie’s questionable steamfest in 2018 and most high school football games. Welp. At least she did better than Lara Trump would have! 

Here is the full performance of the national anthem from Alexis Wilkins. pic.twitter.com/CJLwXSk7NK

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 24, 2026

 

But when Wilkins—most commonly known as FBI Director Kash Patel’s girlfriend—was faced with accusations that she was only 9123783th in line to perform at Freedom 250 because of her beau connection, rather than her (ahem) talent, she got pretty upset. 

Shortly after the “country singer” announced she was performing on Tuesday, Sara Higdon, who writes for the Post Millennial, an online right-wing news site, tweeted: “Does having the FBI director’s girlfriend getting paid by the taxpayers to perform violate federal ethics laws?” And, well, again, Wilkins did not like the insinuation that her boyfriend got her the gig.

“Let’s just get a few things straight, because this is long overdue,” Wilkins tweeted less than an hour later, with a screenshot of Higdon’s original post. “I have had a successful career in both music and commentary/strategy. People don’t get to negate that for clicks or headlines. I was invited to sing this anthem on my own accord, as I have been many other places throughout my career.”

Quick, everyone name your favorite Alexis Wilkins song

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— Jacson A. Bevens, LX (@jacsonbevens.bsky.social) June 25, 2026 at 2:10 AM

“I’m no longer accepting false narratives and total sham accusations that diminish my hard work and earned accomplishments, so please expect this kind of response to continue,” Wilkins added. She wrote also that because Freedom 250 is “on a fundraising arm,” it is not “taxpayer funded.” 

A few things to unpack here! Wilkins, who began releasing music in 2020, has yet to be recognized by any music chart for this (er) “hard work.” She does have a little spate of acting credentials, such as appearing in the background of two episodes of much-loved sitcom Modern Family, but it seems that performing at Freedom 250 might have been her highest-profile performance yet. And contrary to claims that Freedom 250 has not dipped into the taxpayers’ pot, NOTUS earlier this month revealed that the event has received about $80 million in taxpayer dollars. Great!

Earlier this year, Patel reportedly attempted to sic FBI resources on New York Times journalist Elizabeth Williamson after she wrote about Wilkins. Which… yikes. Hopefully, anyone who didn’t love her performance won’t get that same treatment.