In March 2003, the American country band the Dixie Chicks publicly criticized President George W. Bush, triggering a backlash. At a concert in London during their Top of the World Tour, the lead singer, Natalie Maines, said the Dixie Chicks were ashamed to be from Texas, the same state as Bush, and that they did not support the imminent invasion of Iraq.
The Dixie Chicks were one of the most popular American country acts at the time. After the statement was reported by the British newspaper The Guardian, it triggered a backlash from American country listeners, who were mostly right-wing and supported the war. The Dixie Chicks were blacklisted by many country radio stations, received death threats and were criticized by other country musicians. Sales of their music and concert tickets declined and they lost corporate sponsorship. A few days later, Maines issued an apology, saying her remark had been disrespectful. She rescinded the apology in 2006, saying she felt Bush deserved no respect.
Entertainment Weekly likened the incident to the backlash after John Lennon quipped in 1966 that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus. The controversy was covered in the 2006 documentary Shut Up and Sing. In 2006, the Dixie Chicks released the single "Not Ready to Make Nice", which addressed the criticism. The Dixie Chicks and their position on Bush was cited as an influence by later country artists including Taylor Swift, Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves.
Background
The Dixie Chicks formed in 1989 in Dallas, Texas. By the turn of the millennium, they had become one of the most popular American country acts and the bestselling female band of all time. According to the Guardian journalist Betty Clarke, the Dixie Chicks were controversial in the American country establishment, which disapproved of their "feisty songs, their provocative style or the fact they were selling huge numbers of progressive bluegrass records to pop kids".
Following the September 11 attacks in 2001, American country music featured more patriotic sentiment than normal, in hit songs such as Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)", Darryl Worley's "Have You Forgotten?", and Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When The World Stopped Turning)”. Many country fans and radio stations supported President George W. Bush and the impending invasion of Iraq. Market research found that the average country listener was white, suburban and right-wing.
Maines's statement
On March 10, 2003, nine days before the invasion of Iraq, the Dixie Chicks performed at the Shepherd's Bush Empire theater in London, England. It was the first concert of their Top of the World tour in support of their sixth album, Home. Introducing their song "Travelin' Soldier", the singer Natalie Maines told the audience:
Reviewing the concert for the British newspaper The Guardian, the journalist Betty Clarke reported Maines's comment and said that the audience cheered. Clarke wrote: "At a time when country stars are rushing to release pro-war anthems, this is practically punk rock." After Maines made her comment, another band member stepped forward on the stage and added: "But you know we're behind the troops 100 percent." The second comment was not widely reported.
Backlash
Maines's remark triggered a backlash in the United States. Many country fans saw her as traitorous for not supporting the president. Focus tests by Country Music Television found that audiences felt abandoned, and particularly disliked that Maines had criticized Bush in a foreign country, feeling it was cowardly. Maines said she made the statement in London because "that's where I was". She said her remark had been misinterpreted as insult to American troops or an attack on their morale, and that she had instead only criticized the political leadership.
The Dixie Chicks single "Landslide", a Fleetwood Mac cover, fell from number 10 to 43 on the Billboard Hot 100 in one week and left the chart a week later. The Dixie Chicks were blacklisted by many country radio stations. On May 6, the Colorado radio station KKCS suspended two DJs for playing their music. WTDR-FM in Talladega, Alabama, dropped the Dixie Chicks after more than 250 listeners called on a single day to criticize Maines's comments. Jim Jacobs, president of Jacobs Broadcast Group, which includes WTDR, described emotional callers describing family members in the American armed forces. The Dixie Chicks' manager, Simon Renshaw, noted that, by contrast, the stations continued to play the music of Tracy Lawrence, who had been convicted of spousal abuse in 1998.