Wynonna Judd has no interest in turning her concerts into political rallies. During a recent appearance on Tomi Lahren Is Fearless, the country singer explained that while she has her own political views, she sees the stage as a place to entertain people who have paid to hear her music — not to tell them what to think.
“All I can say is this: when I go on stage, I’m keenly aware that people spent their hard-earned money on that ticket,” Judd said. “I never hear from my fans, ‘Hey, would you come out, sing ‘Grandpa,’ and tell me what your political view is?’ I’ve never had that in my entire career; never have I ever had a fan say, ‘We want to know your position on this or that.’”
“My job is to be an entertaining person,” she continued. “My job is to share my gift, let it trickle out into the audience, and give them a chance to connect with me so they go home feeling better than they did when they got there. That’s my job. My job isn’t to get up there and do all of that.”
Judd pointed to Dolly Parton as something of a model for that approach. “So personally, again: what would Dolly do? She wouldn’t do that,” she said. “And that’s why we love her so much, because she loved everybody, she really did. I know that for a fact, and everybody loved her in return.”
The discussion comes after Judd recently found herself pulled into political conversation when Rosie O’Donnell described her as a Trump supporter. Judd disputed that characterization, saying she is an independent and that she and O’Donnell had never discussed politics. O’Donnell later apologized, saying she had made the assumption after Judd performed at Mar-a-Lago.
Judd said her willingness to perform in politically charged settings comes down to patriotism rather than allegiance to a party. She noted that she has performed for multiple presidents as well as Congress and the Senate, adding, “I’ll go anywhere and sing to anybody.”
Judd isn’t alone in drawing that line between music and politics. Earlier this month, Metallica’s James Hetfield told a Sphere crowd that the band wasn’t there “to influence you with their bullshit,” saying their only agenda was “love, energy and heavy music.”