Remember when entertainers didn’t feel the need to pontificate about politics? It wasn’t that long ago when show biz political activists were outnumbered by those who were apolitical or simply didn’t want to stick their necks out and lose fans.
Times have changed. Sometimes even those with a legitimate excuse not to make political comments do it anyway. In Shania Twain’s case, she’s Canadian but she inserted a cowgirl boot shod foot in her mouth by commenting favorably on a certain Insult Comedian with a dead nutria atop his head:
It is not the only way in which she expresses her conservatism. If she had been able to vote in the US election, she would have plumped for Donald Trump, she says. “I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest. Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn’t be able to have both. If I were voting, I just don’t want bullshit. I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?”
The date on this otherwise sympathetic Guardian profile was April 22, 2018. Yesterday. Trump’s status as the liar’s liar and the bullshitter’s bullshitter is well established enough that Twain has already apologized after the inevitable social media shitstorm:
I would like to apologise to anybody I have offended.
The question caught me off guard. As a Canadian, I regret answering this unexpected question without giving my response more context.
My answer was awkward, but certainly should not be taken as representative of my values nor does it mean I endorse him.
I guess that makes this post an instant analysis of an instant apology.
What should we make of this tempest in a Canadian teacup? Not much. Shania Twain is not the only person who confuses bluster with candor and transparency. She’s also not the only person to make uninformed and ignorant comments on the political scene. In her case, it was an unforced error because all she had to say was “I’m Canadian, eh.”
The good news is that writing this post has *not* given me a Shania Twain earworm. Instead, the last word goes to Talking Heads with a song from their final album, Naked:
“Shania Twain is the highest paid lap dancer in Nashville.” – Steve Earle
http://www.nashcountrydaily.com/2016/06/01/vote-now-5-of-the-most-controversial-quotes-ever-uttered-in-country-music/
Ahoy Mark…well, Steve is probably half right, though his timeline & location are a bit off. If Shania had been a lap dancer in Nashville, she’d likely have done a whole lot better than she did spinning ’round the pole in the rotten, racist, hole that is Thunder Bay, Ontario! Pre her “musical career”, but a well known bit o’ her history; no matter how much she denies it.
The only reason this bilge dropped out o’ Shania Twain is because she’s desperate for attention in light o’ her new lame recording (possibly the first since she thought dumping award winning, genius Producer & Boyfriend “Mutt” Lange was a good career move).