Oliver Anthony reveals striking irony behind Republicans using his ‘anthem’ at their debate

Nation singer Oliver Anthony, whose tune “Wealthy Males North of Richmond” grew to become a viral hit and was initially praised by main conservatives for its anti-establishment message, mentioned he’s annoyed that his chart-topping tune was utilized in a distinguished query at the Republican presidential debate this week.

In a YouTube video posted on Friday, the Farmville, Virginia, singer mentioned he doesn’t like seeing folks “wrap politics” round his message, which is concentrated on the lives of people who find themselves, as within the lyrics of “Wealthy Males North of Richmond,” “workin’ all day/ Extra time hours for bullsh** pay.”

“It was humorous seeing my tune at the presidential debate, as a result of it’s like I wrote that tune about these folks. For them to have to sit down and need to hearken to it, that cracks me up,” Anthony mentioned.

“That tune has nothing to do with Joe Biden. It’s rather a lot greater than Joe Biden,” he continued. “That tune is written in regards to the folks on that stage, and much more extra too, not simply them, however positively them.”

The singer additionally mentioned he was annoyed that folks took his lyrics, equivalent to one line about “the overweight milkin’ welfare,” as an assault on the poor.

“They’re sending a message out that the preliminary tune that shot me up the radar, ‘Wealthy Males North of Ricmond,’ is an assault in opposition to the poor,” he mentioned. “In case you hearken to my different music, all of my different songs that reference class defend the poor.”

He talked about one other tune, “Doggonit,” which has lyrics like, “Republicans and Democrats, I swear they’re all simply filled with crap/ I’ve by no means seen a superb metropolis slicking, bureaucrat.”

The shock point out within the debate is the newest unusual chapter within the musician’s sudden rise to fame, after he hit number one on the Billboard Scorching 100, the primary particular person to ever accomplish that with no prior chart historical past.

The singer briefly grew to become a conservative darling when a video of him performing “Rich Men North of Richmond” went viral earlier this month, then misplaced followers on the appropriate when he gave an interview to Fox Information and spoke positively about variety.

“I don’t see our nation lasting greater than one other era the best way we’re headed. We have now to return to the roots of what made this nation nice within the first place, which was our sense of neighborhood,” he said within the interview. “We’re the melting pot of the world. And that’s what makes us robust, our variety. And we have to be taught to harness that and admire it and never use it as a political device to maintain everybody separate from it.”

The feedback provoked outrage on-line, as The Each day Beast has reported, with right-wing figures accusing Anthony of abandoning the beliefs they believed he was singing about in his breakout tune.