Music’s Fiercest Feuds and Beefs (III)

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Dixie Chicks Vs. Toby Keith

The Dixie Chicks performing at Madison Square Garden on June 20, 2003, during the Top of the World Tour

Toby Keith (pictured in 2008) displayed a doctored photo of Maines and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein at his concerts.

After 9/11, conservative artist Toby Keith wrote the song "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)," but not all country stars liked it. Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines said, "It's ignorant, and it makes country music sound ignorant." She continued, "It targets an entire culture — and not just the bad people who did bad things. You've got to have some tact."

Her comments got back to Keith, and he retaliated by touring with a backdrop of Maines with Saddam Hussein. But that was just the latest barb between the two.Their feuding truly started after Maines' concert comment and Keith used their new struggles with the industry to his gain, stoking the flames and smearing them every chance he got.  A month later at the ACM Awards in May, Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines wore a T-shirt with the letters 'F-U-T-K' on the front. It seemed like an obvious affront to Toby Keith, but the trio insisted the acronym stood for "Friends United Together in Kindness" or "Freedom, Understanding, Truth and Knowledge."  In their documentary 'Shu*t Up & Sing,' Maines admits the letters stood for 'F**k You Toby Keith.'

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Dixie Chicks controversy:

In March 2003, the American country band the Dixie Chicks, now known as the Chicks, publicly criticized President George W. Bush and the imminent invasion of Iraq, 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 the same state as Bush and that they did not support the war. 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 led to 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. The backlash damaged sales of the Dixie Chicks' music and concert tickets and lost them corporate sponsorship. A few days later, Maines issued an apology, saying her remark had been disrespectful; in 2006, she rescinded the apology, saying she felt Bush deserved no respect.

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. Entertainment Weekly likened the incident to the backlash after John Lennon quipped in 1966 that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

On April 24, Bush responded to the controversy in an interview with the broadcaster Tom Brokaw:

The Dixie Chicks are free to speak their mind. They can say what they want to say ... They shouldn't have their feelings hurt just because some people don't want to buy their records when they speak out ... Freedom is a two-way street ... I don't really care what the Dixie Chicks said. I want to do what I think is right for the American people, and if some singers or Hollywood stars feel like speaking out, that's fine. That's the great thing about America.

On the same day, the Dixie Chicks launched a publicity campaign to respond to the criticism. In a prime-time interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC, Maines said she remained proud of her statement. The band appeared naked on the May 2 cover of Entertainment Weekly, covered in words and phrases ascribed to them during the controversy, including "traitors", "Saddam's Angels", "Dixie Sluts", "proud Americans", "hero", "free speech" and "brave". The cover further alienated fans.[6] In the issue, Maines said that the Dixie Chicks had "nothing but support for the troops" and did not hate people who supported the war.All the band supported her, saying: "Natalie's comment came from frustration that we all shared — we were apparently days away from war and still left with a lot of questions." Entertainment Weekly likened the situation to the backlash after John Lennon quipped in 1966 that the Beatles were more popular than Jesus.

The American musicians Bruce Springsteen and Madonna expressed support for the Dixie Chicks' right to express their opinions. Madonna postponed the release of her "American Life" video, in which she threw a hand grenade at a Bush lookalike, and later released it in altered form.

t their first show of the Dixie Chicks' American tour, on May 1 in Greenville, South Carolina, Maines wore a T-shirt bearing the words "Dare to Be Free". An anti-Dixie Chicks concert was held in a neighbouring town. Following death threats, metal detectors were installed at the Dixie Chicks shows and in Dallas Maines had to be escorted by police to a concert and then the airport. She installed 24-hour security outside her home, and trash was dumped outside Strayer's home.

On May 21, at the Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas, the Dixie Chicks' nomination for Entertainer of the Year was announced to boos. The award was given to Toby Keith,who had displayed a doctored photo of Maines and Iraqi president Saddam Hussein at his concerts.Maines had criticized Keith the previous year, calling his music "blatantly jingoistic".

During the Dixie Chicks' performance at the ceremony, Maines wore a T-shirt with the letters "FUTK".Many took this to mean "F*ck you Toby Keith"; some Dixie Chicks critics responded by wearing T-shirts bearing the letters "FUDC". A Dixie Chicks spokesperson said that the acronym stood for "Friends United in Truth and Kindness". In a 2004 interview on Real Time with Bill Maher, Maines said that she had believed that no one would understand the T-shirt.The performance drew further criticism from country music stations.

 

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