Chris Lane is preparing to hit the road with Lauren Alaina and Rascal Flatts for the latter's "Life Is a Highway" tour. It kicks off next week in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Videos by Wide Open Country
But because of a recent clip that the "I Don't Know About You" singer posted on TikTok, some fans might be skipping his set altogether. We have the details below.
What Happens in the Chris Lane Video?
Set to the Eric Clapton classic "Wonderful Tonight," the video shows Lane grabbing a fur coat and stepping onto his tour bus. He wrote, "Heading out on tour realizing I could've just opened up a daycare in Minnesota."
The caption then reads, "But then again, meeting all you beautiful people on the Life is a Highway Tour with @Rascal Flatts sounds like a better deal to me."
For context, Lane is taking a swipe at the recent allegations of fraud surrounding Minnesota's federally funded child care programs.
It's a complicated story that started when conservative influencer Nick Shirley alleged that several Somali American-operated day care centers located in the North Star State were billing taxpayer funds without providing services.
As a result, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services froze more than $10 billion in federal childcare and family assistance funding to Minnesota and four other Democratic-led states, citing alleged fraud and misuse of funds.
However, according to MPR News, state and local investigations indicate that the childcare centers in question were operating in compliance with regulatory requirements. The claims in Shirley's video were not substantiated. Despite this, the state's governor, Tim Walz, announced he is not seeking re-election because of the scandal.
What Did Fans Think of the Video?
It's clear that many of Lane's fans got the joke.
One commented, "I knew you were on side." Another added, "I mean in all reality you could of opened up that daycare AND gone on tour."
However, others have called Lane "disgusting" and "a royal prick."
"Stay in your lane buddy," advised one fan.
"I encourage you to use your bus time to research this topic more instead of riding on a racially charged YouTube video that has since been debunked by credible journalists," wrote another. "This reckless & dangerous humor also affects the honest and hardworking Somali population- including children."
Maybe we'll see how this joke really went over when Lane plays St. Paul, Minnesota, on Jan. 23.
