While Kacey Musgraves had plenty to celebrate this past weekend with two back-to-back sold-out shows in Dallas, the “Dry Spell” singer clearly wasn’t carrying that celebratory mood into Monday’s federal holiday.
On top of going mega-viral for her X clap-back at Ex-South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, Musgraves has also found herself at the center of a massive internet discourse after speaking out against Columbus Day. During night two at American Airlines Center on Sunday night (Oct. 13), while talking to the Texas crowd, Musgraves announced, “Tomorrow’s Monday?… Ew, that’s right, wait, it’s Columbus Day? It’s what now?”
The question was met with an echo of boos and people shouting, “It’s Indigenous Day,” to which she agreed, continuing, “ya, no ya ya, actually, obviously f*ck Columbus.” Doubling down, she added, “literally the lamest person to probably ever exist. Like, for real, what a loser? You’re a loser, Christopher Columbus. We hate you. We literally hate you.”
For those who need a quick history rebriefing on the controversial figure in American History, here’s the spark notes version. On one hand, the Italian explorer sailed the Atlantic under the Spanish flag with three ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María (and if you just sang the Step Brothers song in your head, you’re not alone).
He landed on an island in the Bahamas on October 12, 1492, and later became one of the most prominent symbols of European exploration of the Americas, which is why the United States still recognizes Columbus Day as a federal holiday on the second Monday in October.
On the flip side, Columbus has also become a symbol of the darker consequences of European colonization, including violence against Indigenous people, forced labor, and widespread depopulation; hence, many have instead embraced Indigenous Peoples’ Day.
Enough with the history lesson, though. Musgraves’ comments have now stirred up plenty of debate online, with people ripping into her over her blunt denouncement of Columbus.
I can’t say I ever expected to see the day Kacey Musgraves was beefing with Christopher Columbus from beyond the grave, but hey, here we are. And in case you thought the commentary ended there, the post has already racked up well over 1,000 comments on that thread alone, with people fiercely debating and mostly ripping into her take (Check out the full thread below).
Considering Musgraves spent the first night of her Dallas run publicly endorsing Democratic candidate for Senate James Talarico, though, her outspoken demeanour doesn’t necessarily come as a shock.