Tanya Tucker was her usual, fearless self on Sunday (June 16) when she made a surprise appearance during Brandi Carlilie's set at Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tennessee. The duo sang "The Wheels of Laredo," off Tucker's forthcoming Carlile and Shooter Jennings-produced album While I'm Livin', in a setting that likely introduced a living legend to a younger crowd.
As sure as the sun will set, some will exercise their Freedom of Speech in the coming months and knock Tucker as she prepares for her first new album in 17 years, as evidenced by a response to the Tennessean's article about her surprise Bonnaroo debut. That's an awful thing to concede, but let's face it: the internet offers a forum for anonymous and aimless critiques, and talented women often get the brunt of the abuse.
I do...I just wonder if you would put the same degrading connotation on cash or Waylon? Or Kris or Jones? Yeah T had a weird life and some wild times- but we make heroes out of the men that behaved that way. ✌?❤️
— Brandi Carlile (@brandicarlile) June 17, 2019
Read More: Country Classics Revisited: Tanya Tucker's Breakout Hit, 'Delta Dawn'
Predictable or not, Carlile ain't having it, defending her idol turned friend from decades-old gossip that's somehow, some way supposed to demean what happened on stage over the weekend. Plus, criticizing women in country music for hard living is a little rich at a time when the nightmarish tale of George Jones riding to the liquor store on a lawnmower gets celebrated with a mural.
"I just wonder if you would put the same degrading connotation on Cash or Waylon? Or Kris or Jones?," Carlile wrote in a Tweet. "Yeah T had a weird life and some wild times- but we make heroes out of the men that behaved that way."
"Troll" or not, the Twitter user in question was out of line, going as far as to question a multi-Grammy winner's knowledge of country music. Clearly, he rattled the wrong cage.
Now Watch: Going to Concerts Regularly Makes You Happier, Study Says
