Country singer Brantley Gilbert has a message for artists who back out of events when they start receiving public criticism.
“It is aggravating seeing guys sign up and then back out,” he told Fox News, referring to Turning Point USA’s “All-American Halftime Show” during the Super Bowl, which many artists backed out of once public opinion turned against them.
He continued, “We took a lot of heat for the Turning Point thing,” pointing out that, at the end of the day, it was a business decision.
“We agreed to do it. Like, I’m a businessman at the same time I’m an entertainer,” Gilbert explained. “I didn’t do it for free. We get paid to play music.”
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The singer also said it was a “cool” opportunity for his sons to watch the big game — and see him perform. He added, “I never once looked at it and was like, ‘This is going to be divisive. This is going to be great.’ It doesn’t make any sense.”
“The way I treat people isn’t conditional based on what our differences may be,” Gilbert concluded. “I believe ‘united we stand, divided we fall,’ and my prayer for our country is that we stand united.”
In a conversation earlier this year with Us Weekly, Gilbert explained that he was drawn to the Turning Point USA show because it would give him the opportunity to shine a light on America’s servicemen and women and veterans.
“It gave me an opportunity to further share my spotlight and my platform with people that deserve it, and those are the men and women that have selflessly served our country and endured sacrifices and losses that we’ll never understand,” he said. “If somebody’s waiting on me to be apologetic for that, they’re going to be waiting a while.”
Gilbert’s latest album, SINS OF THE FATHER, drops at the end of the month; he told West Central Online, “There’s songs on it that don’t seem like they belong on the same album. It’s a little bit all over the place.”
“I’ve lived a lot of life to get here,” he wrote in an Instagram caption, “This record is me owning all of it – the mistakes, the lessons and who I am now. It’ll remind y’all of some of the earlier stuff!”
SINS OF THE FATHER debuts July 24.
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