Carrie Underwood says her decision to perform at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration next week was motivated by a hope for “unity.”
The “American Idol” veteran and country star left her fans divided Monday when she confirmed plans to perform “America the Beautiful,” accompanied by the Armed Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club, before Trump takes the oath of office on Jan. 20.
She appeared to preemptively address any criticisms of her performance in a statement issued to The New York Times and Variety, among other outlets.
“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,” she said. “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.”
Whether those remarks will be enough to quell the backlash remains to be seen. In an article for The Cut published Monday, news writer Olivia Craighead deemed Underwood’s inauguration performance “horrible news for those of us who hate him but love singing ‘Before He Cheats’ at karaoke,” referring to the musician’s smash 2006 single.
Meanwhile, longtime fan account Carrie Underwood Charts said Monday on X, formerly called Twitter, that it would rebrand itself as “Megan Moroney Stats” in honor of rising country artist Megan Moroney. Though the account didn’t cite Underwood’s plans to perform for Trump as the reason for the name change, the timing didn’t gounnoticed by the account’s followers.
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Underwood, for her part, has avoided discussing her political views in interviews ― though she did express her support for same-sex marriage in 2012.
“I try to stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins. It’s crazy,” she told The Guardian in 2019. “Everybody tries to sum everything up and put a bow on it, like it’s black and white. And it’s not like that.”
However, she appeared to hint at supporting certain conservative beliefs in 2021, when she liked a video posted on X by right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh, in which he denounced COVID-19 mask mandates for children.