After Beyoncé agreed to perform during festivities for former President George W. Bush’s first inauguration in 2001, she rode out the backlash. Years later, the pop star and her mother said in an interview that Beyoncé, still appearing as part of the R&B group Destiny’s Child at the time of the inauguration, did it for the children.
“He’s our president,” Beyoncé said of Bush. “He told us that we have a bigger influence on kids than he does a lot of the time, and he appreciates that we’re positive role models.”
“I agree with that,” the interviewer replied solemnly.
Fast forward to 2025, and things are, well, a little different. What President Donald Trump once lacked in inauguration celebrity presence he intended to make up for eight years later. Move over, Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Trump’s second inauguration weekend was packed with well-known performers, and particularly country star power: Lee Greenwood, who was a repeat from 2016, Billy Ray Cyrus, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flatts, and none other than eight-time Grammy Award winner Carrie Underwood.
“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,” Underwood said in a statement defending her decision to perform, something liberal artists are not required to do, by the way. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”
This was not good enough for the usual suspects. Actor George Takei posted, “That’s a no for me, dawg,” the quip referencing Underwood’s role as an American Idol judge. A Jezebel writer rolled her eyes at the idea that Underwood would be singing “America the Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration. “I’m sure [songwriter Katharine Lee] Bates would be thrilled to hear that Underwood is singing her lyrics about America being for everyone at the swearing-in of an orange, wannabe dictator,” she conjectured.
On social media, things got nastier, with angry critics repurposing Underwood’s lyrics to “Jesus Take the Wheel” and “Before He Cheats” to wish her ill. “Jesus is about to take the wheel and drive your career right into the toilet,” one scold said. “I hope he cheat[s] again,” another said, “and you get charged with vandalism to that man[‘s] vehicle.” The more creative among the critics called her a Nazi.
To quote Shakespeare, these are tales told by idiots, “full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.” Given the demographic characteristics of people likely to be country music fans, and given that Trump won over even many liberals to gain the popular vote, it’s unlikely that this performance will cause any meaningful dip in Underwood’s career. Despite rumors that her number of Spotify listeners took a hit, it’s absurd to suggest that one of the music service’s top 10 country artists will greatly suffer from the loss of a few fairweather fans.
Apparently, not everyone got the memo: Cancel culture isn’t what it used to be in the not-so-halycon days of the late 2010s. Underwood will be all right. Can we say the same for those throwing a fit over how a country singer chooses to spend her time?