It’s been a heck of a week for Carrie Underwood. Last Wednesday, she and Brad Paisley hosted the Country Music Association’s (CMA) 51st annual awards show for the tenth time. One of the best bits of the show was a parody of Underwood’s hit “Before He Cheats.” In the song, Underwood and Paisley poked fun at President Donald Trump’s errant Twitter habit, hoping that he will “think before he tweets.”
“Right now, he’s probably in his PJs, watching cable news, reaching for his cell phone,” Paisley sang.
“Right now, he’s probably asking Siri, ‘How in the hell do you spell Pocahontas?’
In the middle of the night, from the privacy of a gold-plated White House toilet seat, he writes ‘Liddle Bob Corker, NFL and covfefe.'”
Paisley and Underwood then stopped to determine how to pronounce Trump’s famous typo, before resuming:
“And it’s fun to watch, yeah, that’s for sure, ’til little Rocket Man starts a Nuclear War, and then maybe next time he’ll think before he tweets.”
Later on in the night, Underwood performed at the In Memoriam segment of the show with a stirring rendition of the beloved hymn “Softly and Tenderly.”
It’s not the first time the country superstar has worn her outspoken Christian faith on her sleeve. She has sung hymns live on other occasions, and she has recorded songs about the redemptive power of faith in Jesus Christ. She garnered rave reviews for the powerful moment, and she even appeared to choke up during the hymn.
A mere two days later, Underwood’s elation turned to pain as she fell down a set of steps outside her Nashville home. She went to the hospital and underwent treatment for a broken wrist, cuts and abrasions with her husband Mike Fisher by her side. The injury caused her to miss a benefit concert on Sunday night.
Thanks so much for all the well wishes everybody…I’ll be alright…might just take some time…glad I’ve got the best hubby in the world to take care of me.
— Carrie Underwood (@carrieunderwood) November 12, 2017
It would be a stretch to make a connection between “Before He Tweets,” “Softly and Tenderly,” and a tumble down the stairs, right? Not if you’re a Trump cultist.
That’s right: some of those ardent, not-so-reasonable Trump supporters have turned on Underwood after the CMAs. Some of them have even blamed her unfortunate fall on “karma.” Folks, you can’t make stuff like this up.
While Underwood attempted to thank her well-wishers on Facebook after her accident, some fans skipped the “feel better” messages and took aim at her Trump jokes.
In fact, one person went so far as to claim it was “karma” that caused the accident.
She wrote:
Karma from making fun of your president. A godly person wouldnt [sic] do that.
Another commenter added:
Did not think that you would participate in disrespecting our president. I was disappointed. Hope you feel better though.
One man recommended that Underwood steer clear of politics:
Hey carrie, [sic] keep politics out of music. You really screwed the pooch this time! No one asked you in the first place! Of course you could always run for president if you think you can handle it.
Winning a contest for loudmouths would certainly qualify you for the DNC.
I will never buy your music again. If I hear it on the radio, I’m changing the station.
You’re not the brightest bulb in the box, are you?
And another gave the singer some advice:
Not a very good way to keep fans. We have to [sic] many liberals who feed off these comments with all the fake news. You should retract or stay with the people who don’t respect the USA or it’s leader.
Another commenter wrote:
Don’t know what you said but if you disrespected our president even if someone “ just wrote it for you to say” that is unAmerican and I can no longer respect/follow you. I thought you were above all of that. Very sad.
Good grief, how ugly can some people be?
Look, I don’t presume to know Carrie Underwood’s politics — though I do know she’s a huge animal rights advocate, and I’ve heard she supports same-sex marriage — but, trust me, you don’t have to be a flaming liberal to make fun of Donald Trump. There aren’t many public figures who attract ridicule quite like the current president.
I can’t help but be confident that her faith is genuine, and while the Bible calls us to respect our leaders, I can’t equate a gentle parody of the president with a refusal to submit to authority. I’m also reminded of some of the truly ugly things some Christian conservatives have said about Barack Obama — statements that were far more un-Christlike than jibing Trump’s Twitter habit.
At the end of the day, the treatment of Carrie Underwood at the hands of the Trump cult shows how thin-skinned this crowd really is. Are they really so sensitive that country music stars can’t gently poke fun at him without suffering castigation? Apparently so. Are Underwood’s sincere, beautiful expressions of faith less indicative of the sincerity of her Christianity than mild political humor? Not at all.
This whole brouhaha over “Before He Tweets” shows how far we’ve fallen when it comes to some folks’ ability to laugh at the world. And that’s just sad.
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