John Rich Wants Everyone to ‘Shut Up About Politics’
Big & Rich's John Rich is fairly outspoken politically, but in a new song, he says he wants everyone to "Shut Up About Politics." The singer co-wrote his new track, with Greg Gutfeld, co-host of Fox News' The Five.
Rich debuted "Shut Up About Politics" on The Five on Thursday (May 30) (press play on the video above to watch). "Shut up about politics / Ain't nothing but a big pile of dirty tricks / I'm tired of all the fighting and the bitching fits / So shut up about politics," he sings.
"We had the chat about, it would be fun to come up with a song when you guys came to Nashville," Rich explains of the song's genesis, "and [Gutfeld] said, 'I'll send you some ideas' ... and you had some really good lines, and 'Shut up about politics' was in there, and so I pulled that one out and built the song."
Proceeds from "Shut Up About Politics" will benefit Folds of Honor, which provides scholarships to children and spouses of disabled or deceased service members.
Rich made headlines last year after he posted tweets rebuking Nike's decision to feature former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick in one of their ads. In one of the posts, Rich photographed his sound man after cutting the Nike logo off of his socks, claiming that they would later be burned.
Rich himself has been vocal about his own political leanings in the past. A conservative, the singer faced social media backlash last fall after voicing his disapproval of Nike's selection of former NFL player Colin Kaepernick for a new ad campaign. However, Rich has also offered to debate pro-gun control artists on the issue, and engaged in a civil Twitter discussion with Americana singer-songwriter Jason Isbell about the 2018 Tennessee Senate race.
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