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The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks, is an American country music band comprising Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire, and Emily Strayer, who were founded in 1989. In 2003, the trio faced backlash after they publicly called out then-U.S. President George W. Bush for the Iraq War at their London promotional concert for the studio album, Home.
Now, country legend John Rich has slammed rock musician Zach Bryan for his latest anti-ICE song, Bad News, comparing the latter to the Dixie Chicks. Sharing a link to the Whiskey Riff article “‘ICE Is Gonna Come Bust Down Your Door’ – Zach Bryan Teases Politically-Charged New Song, ‘Bad News,’” Rich wrote on X:
“Who's ready for the Zach Bryan-Dixie Chicks tour? Prob a huge Bud Light sponsorship for this one.”
Notably, Bryan teased his song via a short clip on Instagram on October 3. The lyrics read:
“I heard the cops came/ Cocky motherf**ker, ain’t they?/ And ICE is gonna come bust down your door / Try to build a house no one builds no more/ But I got a telephone/ Kids are all scared and all alone/ … The middle finger’s rising, and it won’t stop showing/ Got some bad news/ The fading of the red, white and blue.”
Before the Dixie Chicks comparison, the one half of the Big & Rich duo and longtime Trump supporter blasted Zach Bryan by writing: “Nashville is full of guys like this.” It was accompanied by a repost of The Patriot Oasis’ status containing the Whiskey Riff headline alongside an image of Bryan.
Neither Dixie Chicks nor Zach Bryan has responded to John Rich’s remark.
Exploring the Dixie Chicks’ 2003 controversy surrounding George W. Bush
In March 2003, the Dixie Chicks were in London for the promotion of their album, Home, when Natalie Maines openly declared on stage that they disagreed with President George W. Bush's plan to go to war with Iraq.
“Just so you know, we do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas,” Maines stated.
Her comment sparked widespread outrage in the USA. In response, Natalie issued a statement explaining her viewpoint. She wrote on the band’s website:
“We’ve been overseas for several weeks and have been reading and following the news accounts of our government’s position. The anti-American sentiment that has unfolded here is astounding.”
The Dixie Chicks frontwoman went on to say that while they “support” the troops, there was “nothing more frightening than the notion of going to war with Iraq and the prospect of all the innocent lives that will be lost.”
She added, “I feel the President is ignoring the opinions of many in the US and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the privileges of being an American is that you are free to voice your own point of view.”
Her clarification did not stop the backlash. Back then, radio stations, such as KFKF and Cumulus in Kansas City and WIRK in West Palm Beach, Florida, began pulling the Dixie Chicks' music, including the hit single Travelin’ Soldier, which had earned the top spot on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Meanwhile, fans protested by destroying the band’s tapes, records, CDs, DVDs, and concert tickets. Subsequently, Natalie Maines apologized to President Bush in a statement released on the Dixie Chicks website. She wrote:
“As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful. I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect. We are currently in Europe and witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war.”
Maines further mentioned, “While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers’ lives are lost. I love my country. I am a proud American.”
Meanwhile, other country artists such as Toby Keith slammed The Chicks by displaying Maine's photo next to that of Iraqi leader, Saddam Hussein, on a screen during his concert, as reported by People Magazine. The bandmates responded by posing topless on the cover of Entertainment Weekly with the words “big mouth” and “traitors” in the background. Maines, herself, wore a t-shirt with the letters “FUTK” at the 2003 ACM awards, which was deemed as a shade toward Toby Keith.
Despite the backlash, the Dixie Chicks went on to sell 900,000 tickets for that year’s arena tour. They were also Billboard’s top-selling country artists. Three years later, their studio album, Taking the Long Way, also earned them five Grammy Awards and the top spots on the Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums charts.
In 2019, Taylor Swift went viral after telling The Guardian in an interview that “I come from country music… The number 1 thing they drill into you as a country artist is… ‘Don’t be like the Dixie Chicks!’”
Speaking to Allure in 2020, Natalie Maines recalled how shocked they were to see the entire industry turning on them overnight, when they just wanted the audience to know “who we were and what we were about.”
“I do not like when artists get on their soapbox — it’s not what people are there for; they’re there to listen to your music — [but] the politics of this band is inseparable from the music,” she added.
That same year, Maines also appeared on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen and said they were one of the first to feel the “cancel culture.”
The Dixie Chicks went on a hiatus in 2008. Later, they reunited in 2016 and resumed touring. In 2020, the word “Dixie” was removed from the band’s name. That same year, they released the eighth studio album Gaslighter, followed by the single, March March, in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement. In a 2020 interview with The Guardian, Emily Strayer said about the 2003 scandal:
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“You’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t, so we just try and keep our own compass on all that stuff.” They expected the trolls: “The people who have hated us since the Bush comment are probably the same people saying that stuff.”
Martie Maguire added that everyone “used and abused” The Chicks and wanted to “make money off of us.” Meanwhile, Natalie Maines claimed that the Bush controversy made her a “fighter,” but she had to undergo therapy to get over the pushback.
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