Country singer Kacey Musgraves is facing fierce backlash and calls for a boycott after using the opening night of her new tour to solicit donations for children whose parents she said had been deported “unfairly.” Musgraves told concertgoers that the money would support an immigrant-rights organization providing legal aid and other assistance. Her remarks received cheers inside the arena but drew a sharply different response online.
The controversy began on Friday, August 21st, when Musgraves opened her “Middle of Nowhere” tour at Chicago’s United Center. The concert also fell on the eight-time Grammy Award winner’s 38th birthday. Musgraves paused the performance to tell the crowd that her birthday wish was for them to support the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights.
“It’s a wonderful organization, and they help give aid — legal aid — and money to children whose parents have been deported unfairly,” Musgraves said. She insisted that the request was separate from the political fight surrounding the Trump administration’s immigration-enforcement policies. “It’s not a political thing. It’s just, these kids need help,” she added.
Musgraves continued by describing children who allegedly lacked the help necessary to handle immigration proceedings after being separated from their parents. “They have no guidance and no way to get through this thing without their homebase or their parents,” she said, according to Yahoo. “So anyway, 50 cents, whatever the hell, I don’t know, whatever you want to do but that would mean a lot to me.”
“If you don’t want to, that’s totally fine too,” Musgraves told the audience. Although many of the concertgoers responded with applause, critics challenged her description of deported parents as victims of an unfair process. Tomi Lahren shared footage of the remarks on X and asked a direct question: “What is an unfair deportation?”
Conservative influencer Vince Langman also criticized the singer’s appeal, writing, “Kacey Musgraves stopped her concert to ask the audience to donate money for legal aid to kids whose parents have been deported ‘unfairly.’” He then asked why she did not request donations for children whose parents have been killed by illegal immigrants. Another critic responded, “Shut up and sing Kasey (sic)!! Why do musicians think they Can draw a line in the sand?”
Watch Musgraves make her controversial request here:
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Other detractors announced that they planned to stop listening to Musgraves or attending her concerts. “You just earned yourself a big ol’ boycott, you traitor,” one commenter quoted in the report wrote. Another added, “I’m deporting Musgraves from all my music playlists.”
Several critics questioned why Musgraves was asking concertgoers, who had already purchased tickets, to provide the money. One commenter claimed that the singer was worth $15 million and noted that some fans had paid between $150 and $350 for admission. “If she cares that much, she can fund it herself and let them live in one of her multi-million-dollar mansions,” the commenter wrote.
Musgraves didn’t retreat from her support for the organization after the criticism began. She posted a message to her Instagram Story that read, “Kinda chic when kids don’t face immigration court alone.” The Young Center thanked her and said it appreciated her support for its “work and mission to see unaccompanied immigrant children safe, free, and with their families.”
The Chicago-based nonprofit pairs volunteers with attorneys and social workers who advocate for unaccompanied and separated migrant children in federal custody. The organization reported serving 1,975 children from 53 countries and opening 1,388 new cases in 2024. Musgraves previously supported the group through a sale of 20 pieces from her wardrobe, with the proceeds designated for the organization.
Her appeal came as federal immigration authorities recorded approximately 51,000 arrests in July, surpassing the roughly 43,000 arrests reported in June. The Department of Homeland Security defended the administration’s enforcement campaign, saying, “Every day, the brave men and women of ICE are arresting and DEPORTING dangerous criminal illegal aliens, including gang members, from our country.”