I was surprised to see a lot of buzz about Carrie Underwood on Facebook over the weekend. Of course, it’s not unusual for the country superstar to be on the cover of a magazine or at the top of country and pop music charts, but the conversation is once again turning to Underwood’s off-the-job hobbies like supporting the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS).
A blog post from 2009 about Underwood’s $200,000 donation to HSUS has resurfaced and gone viral once again.
Blogger Joe Scully wrote, “Miss Underwood just handed over a ton of coin to help the largest animal rights activist organization on earth fight farmers and ranchers and anyone else that has an interest in animals.”
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I was surprised to see this blog resurface and gain traction among my agricultural friends because I thought everyone was already aware of the fact that Underwood isn’t a fan of livestock production.
This notoriety all began in 2005 when Underwood wore a “V is for Vegetarian” t-shirt while competing on American Idol. She followed that up by speaking about her vegetarian lifestyle in every interview she gave, citing a “bad experience” on her parents’ Oklahoma cattle ranch as the reason she gave up meat. Since she has achieved stardom, she has helped top up the HSUS coffers both with her own donations and as a spokesperson for the organization. More recently, she has announced that she is now a vegan.
Seeing the blog post get shared once again is certainly a good thing. After all, if it helps inform more of us of where Underwood spends her money, then perhaps fewer people would pay for her concerts or buy her CDs. So even though I was surprised that this isn’t common knowledge yet, my personal five-year boycott of Underwood’s music is still going strong.
Admittedly, I did tune in to last week’s CMA Awards show, where Underwood and Brad Paisley were co-hosts. I was equally displeased with many in the agriculture community who posted positive comments and glowing reviews of Underwood’s hosting after her and Paisley sang a duet “Obamacare By Morning,” which was a parody of George Strait’s hit, “Amarillo By Morning.”
Don’t get me wrong. I appreciated the joke. In fact, I received a letter last week notifying me that because of the Affordable Health Care Act, I was being bumped from my previous health care insurance. The cherry on top was that my new plan under health.gov will cost me higher premiums and double my deductible. Thanks, Obama.
Though I appreciate Underwood and Paisley bringing awareness to the Obamacare debacle, I choose to support those who support my way of life. So when Underwood comes on the radio, I switch the channel. To me, Underwood has forgotten her country roots.
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