Country music star Kacey Musgraves is facing calls for a boycott after turning part of a recent concert into a plea for children whose parents she claimed had been deported “unfairly.” Although Musgraves attempted to characterize the request as nonpolitical, her comments drew criticism from conservatives who challenged her description of federal immigration enforcement. Several critics responded by promising to remove her music from their playlists and stop supporting her concerts.
The controversy began during the opening performance of Musgraves’ “Middle of Nowhere” tour at the United Center in Chicago. The show fell on the eight-time Grammy Award winner’s 38th birthday, and Musgraves asked concertgoers to donate to the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights as her birthday gift. The organization pairs volunteers with interdisciplinary staff, attorneys, and social workers to accompany and advocate for unaccompanied and separated migrant children in government custody.
Musgraves introduced the organization before describing the children she wanted her fans to support. “It’s a wonderful organization, and they help give aid — legal aid — and money to children whose parents have been deported unfairly,” she said. Musgraves characterized her appeal for donations as nonpolitical, saying the children simply needed help.
“It’s not a political thing. It’s just, these kids need help,” Musgraves told the audience, as we previously reported. “They have no guidance and no way to get through this thing without their homebase or their parents.” Musgraves framed the children as facing immigration proceedings without the parents or stable home life they would normally depend upon. The audience responded to her comments with loud applause and cheers.
“So anyway, 50 cents, whatever the hell, I don’t know, whatever you want to do but that would mean a lot to me,” Musgraves continued. Musgraves told concertgoers that donating was entirely optional, adding, “If you don’t want to, that’s totally fine too.” The attempt to present the request as apolitical did little to satisfy critics once video of the remarks began spreading online.
Watch Musgraves make the request that inspired boycott calls here:
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OutKick host Tomi Lahren responded by asking a direct question about the central claim behind Musgraves’ appeal. “What is an unfair deportation?” Lahren wrote while sharing footage from the concert. Other critics accused Musgraves of condemning immigration enforcement without explaining which deportations she considered unfair or why.
Conservative influencer Vince Langman also pushed back on the singer’s comments and pointed to American children harmed by illegal immigrants. “Kacey Musgraves stopped her concert to ask the audience to donate money for legal aid to kids whose parents have been deported ‘unfairly,’” Langman wrote. “How about donating money the help kids who’s parents have been killed by illegal immigrants! What happened to the country music industry?”
The backlash soon turned into calls for listeners to boycott Musgraves’ music as well as her live concerts. “You just earned yourself a big ol’ boycott, you traitor,” one detractor wrote. Another critic announced, “I’m deporting Musgraves from all my music playlists,” while a separate commenter wrote, “Shut up and sing Kasey!!”
One X user declared that Musgraves had “officially ended her career” by requesting donations for people the commenter described as criminals who “used their children as pawns to commit crime and stay in America.” Others questioned why the wealthy singer was soliciting additional money from fans who had already paid to attend her concert. “Everyone she is speaking [to] gave her their money when they bought tickets,” one commenter wrote, arguing that Musgraves should make the donation herself.
Musgraves did not retreat from the dispute after the concert. She posted an Instagram Story that read, “Kinda chic when kids don’t face immigration court alone,” and shared a message from the Young Center thanking her for the support. “We appreciate your support of our work and mission to see unaccompanied immigrant children safe, free, and with their families,” the organization wrote.
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video.