Canadian country star Shania Twain apologized for saying she would have voted for U.S. President Donald Trump, had she been given the opportunity, in a series of tweets Sunday night.
In an interview with the Guardian, Twain said she would have voted for Trump because he seemed honest.
“I would have voted for him because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest,” she said. “Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn’t be able to have both. If I were voting, I just don’t want bullshit. I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?”
But on Sunday evening, Twain walked back that statement and said she doesn’t endorse Trump at all.
“I am passionately against discrimination of any kind and hope it’s clear from the choices I have made, and the people I stand with, that I do not hold any common moral beliefs with the current President,” she said. “I was trying to explain, in response to a question about the election, that my limited understanding was that the President talked to a portion of America like an accessible person they could relate to, as he was NOT a politician.”
I would like to apologise to anybody I have offended in a recent interview with the Guardian relating to the American President. The question caught me off guard. As a Canadian, I regret answering this unexpected question without giving my response more context (1/4)
— Shania Twain 💎💎💎 (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
I am passionately against discrimination of any kind and hope it’s clear from the choices I have made, and the people I stand with, that I do not hold any common moral beliefs with the current President (2/4)
— Shania Twain 💎💎💎 (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
I was trying to explain, in response to a question about the election, that my limited understanding was that the President talked to a portion of America like an accessible person they could relate to, as he was NOT a politician (3/4)
— Shania Twain 💎💎💎 (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
My answer was awkward, but certainly should not be taken as representative of my values nor does it mean I endorse him. I make music to bring people together. My path will always be one of inclusivity, as my history shows. (4/4)
— Shania Twain 💎💎💎 (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
Twain’s tweets were a response to a wave of criticism the 52-year-old singer received online after the Guardian published the story Sunday. Fans tweeted about their shock and disgust that the same musician renowned for her women-empowering anthems like “I Feel Like A Woman” and “That Don’t Impress Me Much” would openly support a man accused of sexual misconduct by at least 16 women.
https://twitter.com/TheMurlockKing/status/988302941751832576
Shania Twain would vote Trump. That don't impress me much…
— Duncan Lindsay (@DuncanLindsay) April 22, 2018
Ugh I can't believe we have to cancel Shania Twain now
— carina adly mackenzie (@cadlymack) April 23, 2018
Shania Twain is canceled. I will never hum along to Still The One in a gas station at 3am ever again.
— 🐿️✨America Is Musty✨🐿️ (@DragonflyJonez) April 23, 2018
https://twitter.com/OnceUponARoss/status/988138464947339264
She certainly doesn't speak for all Canadians. Honest? Really!? Good lord. https://t.co/Tk97PmO1jE
— Jennifer Gough (@Mindseyestudio) April 22, 2018
Shania Twain saying she would’ve voted for Trump because he “seemed honest”. pic.twitter.com/HxXLXg7KDv
— adam ✧˖ ° (@itsAdamHall) April 22, 2018
2. It's unclear what @ShaniaTwain's motivation for saying this was. Her arena tour this summer is far from sold-out but it's not like she took a hard stance on Trump..cheering him on etc. So she hasn't excited his supporters and she's totally pissed off his detractors.
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) April 22, 2018
These comments by @ShaniaTwain saying she would have voted for @realDonaldTrump if she could because even though he was offensive, he was honest, is mirrored by the 53% of white women who voted for him. They don’t care how he mistreated other women. His crassness means nothing.
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) April 23, 2018
Twain’s interview was intended to promote her upcoming U.S. tour—her first album tour since 2002—that kicks off in May. In 2017 she released her fifth studio album, Now, following a 15-year hiatus. Twain also just recently recovered from getting a laryngoplasty, an operation to reconstruct her vocal box.