What to Know
Carrie Underwood tends to avoid commenting on politics, but her decision to perform at President Donald Trump’s inauguration definitely made a statement. Though some people were not surprised that the country singer made this decision, other fans were extremely disappointed. A source recently told the Daily Mail that the criticism hasn’t seemed to affect her.
While it reportedly doesn’t bother her personally, it could have an impact on her career. According to a recent report from Rob Shuter, insiders are worried about how the MAGA accusations could affect American Idol viewership, given that Carrie is a judge on the show.
Producers are worried that the show won’t appeal to enough people.
One source told Rob that “the show needs mass appeal.” And apparently, there are concerns that Carrie’s politics could cause problems. “Politics instantly split the audience, and that’s the opposite of what Idol is built on,” the insider said.
In 2019, Carrie told The Guardian that she tries to “stay far out of politics if possible, at least in public, because nobody wins.” But many would argue that singing “America the Beautiful” at Trump’s inauguration is not exactly staying out of politics.
When Carrie defended her decision to perform, she clearly tried to remain neutral — but it’s hard to beat the MAGA accusations when you’re willingly performing for Trump. “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,” Carrie said in a statement at the time. “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.”
Carrie’s politics could be distracting.
If the rumors are true and producers really are concerned about Carrie’s politics affecting the singing competition, those concerns wouldn’t be totally unfounded. Per the Daily Mail, some American Idol fans have said they’ll boycott the show because of Carrie. Additionally, General Hospital star Nancy Lee Grahn recently said she would skip an episode of Jimmy Kimmel’s show because Carrie was set to appear on it alongside her fellow American Idol judges, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie.
“See ya next week @jimmykimmel. I refuse to even look at @carrieunderwood,” she wrote on Threads. It’s probably safe to assume that Nancy isn’t alone in feeling this way about the country singer. (Kathy Griffin wrote back with, “Yeah, no love for maga Carrie. It’s not just about political disagreements anymore.”)
Another insider told Rob, “Idol is supposed to be feel-good, family-friendly television. The last thing producers want is a judge turning into a political lightning rod.”
