Legendary singer-songwriter James Taylor addresses being cut from the DNC lineup Monday night

James Taylor took to X Tuesday afternoon to address the elephant — err, more like the donkey — in the room. A performance from the legendary singer-songwriter was scheduled to be a part of the jam-packed Democratic National Convention lineup Monday night, but was cut.

In Taylor's statement posted to X, the six-time Grammy Award winner said he had a great rehearsal with Emmy Award winner Rickey Minor — a renowned music producer, conductor and composer — and "terrific" singers Kenya Hathaway and Matthew Johnson.

Taylor was spotted warming up his signature rendition of "You've Got a Friend" at the United Center on Monday. In 2023, he performed at a Biden fundraising event titled, "You've Got A Friend In Joe."

"But it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our 'You’ve Got a Friend' with cello and voices," Taylor's statement read. "Maybe the organizers couldn’t anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center… "

That's what DNC officials attributed the cuts to after Monday night's program.

“Because of the raucous applause interrupting speaker after speaker, we ultimately skipped elements of our program to ensure we could get to President Biden as quickly as possible so that he could speak directly to the American people," DNC officials said. "We are proud of the electric atmosphere in our convention hall and proud that our convention is showcasing the broad and diverse coalition behind the Harris-Walz ticket throughout the week on and off the stage.”

Two other performers did take the stage earlier Monday night: Country music trailblazer Mickey Guyton and Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Jason Isbell.

Taylor was set to be a part of the 9 p.m. block of programming, between Dr. Jill Biden and daughter Ashley Biden, who introduced her father to the crowd with a heartwarming speech.

It wasn't until around 10:30 p.m. that Biden began his speech, which wrapped up just over 40 minutes later. The convention's first day of programming had been expected to end at 10:15 p.m.

Taylor went on to apologize to those who were disappointed by his absence.

Nevertheless, it was exciting to see and hear so many speakers, he said, and he was honored to witness "a great and inspirational, quintessentially American moment."

If Taylor would've performed at the DNC Monday, that would've been his fifth consecutive convention performance, Billboard reported.

Taylor's activism dates decades. His first political fundraiser was a concert in 1972 for George McGovern, Richard Nixon's opponent.

"I'm a lifelong Democrat," he told Boston Public Radio. "And I pay a lot of taxes, and I want a government that I paid for."

While Taylor has been apprehensive about sharing his political views and didn't want to politicize his art, according to BPR, Taylor believes in his responsibility as a citizen regarding the upcoming 2024 election.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: James Taylor addresses being cut from the DNC lineup Monday on X