John Rich is one of the more outspoken personalities in country music.
One half of Big & Rich, John has taken strong stances on everything from Bud Light to the COVID vaccine to the future of artificial intelligence in songwriting.
And of course he also has thoughts on the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Rich has spoken out against United States involvement and funding in the war many times, once calling out President Biden for going to Ukraine while former President Trump campaigned in Ohio.
And now John Rich is going after one of his fellow country stars for his plea to Americans to donate money to help Ukraine.
Back in April 2022, Garth Brooks and his wife Trisha Yearwood posted a video for Stand Up for Ukraine, a digital campaign to raise money for the country’s efforts in its fight against Russia.
In the video, Garth and Trisha asked people to “dig into their pockets” to assist Ukrainians during the war effort.
Says Yearwood:
“There’s a global initiative and supplies are already spread thin, and this is where you come in. We need your help. We need you to donate.”
Garth adds:
“We always ask for love and prayers, and please keep doing that, but we’re also going to ask you: dig in your pockets, be part of the greatest global relief plan mankind has ever seen.”
Ol’ G, always all about love and prayers…
Yearwood finishes with one final plea:
“Everybody deserves dignity, everybody deserves a roof over their head; to feel safe. You can be a part of that.”
The video has recently been making its rounds on social media once again, and apparently caught the attention of John Rich.
Rich retweeted the video, mocking Garth and Trisha for wanting Americans to send their money overseas:
“Garth and Trisha really want you to know it’s time for you to be a good person, and hand your money over to Ukraine. Ok? Ok.”
And Travis Tritt, another outspoken conservative country star, agreed with Rich in a reply to the tweet:
“Total BS! I’m so sick and tired of hearing about why we should defend Ukraine’s borders above our own.”
Gotta love that signature unison ending from Garth and Trish…
The tweet from Rich has since garnered over 2.5 million views.
This isn’t the first time Garth and John Rich have found themselves on the opposite sides of an issue.
In the wake of the controversy, country star John Rich announced that he would be removing the beer from his Nashville bar, Redneck Riviera.
But a few weeks later during a Q&A as part of Billboard’s Country Music Live in Conversation, Garth discussed his upcoming Nashville bar, and wanting to make Friends in Low Places (yes, that’s really the name of it) a “safe space” for everyone – and that includes selling Bud Light.
Rich responded to Garth’s promise to sell Bud Light at his bar by saying that while he respects Garth because he “makes music for everybody,” he predicted that Garth may “find out not many people are going to order” Bud Light once the bar opens.
I have a feeling there’s not a whole lot that these two actually agree on…
