High-profile people sometimes get into high-profile scrapes. When they have problems, it's a blaring headline. Sometimes things do get blown out of proportion. Other times, the issue is truly serious. If someone speaks without thinking or acts inappropriately, a scandal can ensue. Country music has endured quite a few of those over the years. One thing is for sure, though - country music endures. Here's a look back at some of the buzzed-about pitfalls that country stars have gotten themselves into and out of.
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Lady Antebellum Changes Their Name But That Rebrand Was Fraught With Difficulty
In the aftermath of George Floyd's tragic death in 2020, there was a re-examination of any language prominently associated with the Civil War era. The word "antebellum" means prior to a war, especially the Civil War. Members of the band (Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley, and Dave Haywood) sought to change its name to just Lady A. That was easier said than done, as they discovered.
Per sheknows.com, "The band's new choice of name, however, was already being used by Seattle-based African American singer Anita White. What ensued, was a back-and-forth legal battle over rights of the stage name." Two years later, per the outlet via The Hollywood Reporter, the issue was put to rest when both parties dropped their lawsuits.
Morgan Wallen Flinging A Chair Off A Building
Morgan Wallen is one of the biggest stars in country music. Full stop. His I'm the Problem album is hotter than asphalt on a 100 degree day. His career has skyrocketed beyond probably even his wildest dreams. But Wallen has gotten himself into some unseemly situations too. One of them took place in the spring of last year when he allegedly threw a chair off the sixth floor of a building in Nashville. That establishment was actually Eric Church's bar, Chief's. The chair almost struck two police officers.
Per ABC News via court documents, "Officers arrested the defendant with three counts of reckless endangerment for two officers being in the vicinity and the danger to the public. Additionally, he was charged with disorderly conduct as he created a hazardous condition by an act that served no legitimate purpose."
Wallen reached a plea agreement that stipulated two years' probation, a week at a DUI education center, plus "pay[ing] a $350 fine and court fees."
One Of The Chicks Pointedly Criticized President George W. Bush
Natalie Maines, one of the Chicks (they were then known as the Dixie Chicks) bluntly took President George W. Bush to task during a London concert in 2003. Just prior to America's involvement in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Maines reportedly said per history.com, "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence. And we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
The pushback against the group was ferocious. Irate fans besieged country music radio stations with calls asking that the Chicks be barred from their airwaves. Per the outlet, "Soon some of those same stations were calling for a boycott of the recent Chicks' album and of their upcoming U.S. tour."
It would be years before the Chicks dropped another album.
The Very Brief Marriage Of Actress Renee Zellweger To Country Music Star Kenny Chesney
The two stars marched down the aisle two decades ago. Then they parted ways just four months later, per Taste Of Country. Tongues were wagging about their quick split. Per the outlet, "...[N]o one ever found out exactly what went down between the two." They both took the high road in the aftermath of their short-lived marriage and the wave of speculation about it.
