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Country singer Oliver Anthony has become the internet’s favorite musician with his hit track Rich Men North of Richmond. Despite the song being loved by several Republicans, certain lyrics have raised eyebrows. Netizens accused the rising star of being fatphobic and elitist. Since then, the Virginia native has taken to Instagram to defend himself.
For those unversed, Oliver Anthony, whose real name is Christopher Anthony Lunsford went viral after releasing the aforementioned song. It has since stood in the first spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It has also nabbed the first place on iTunes’ country chart. The track has amassed over 11 million views on YouTube as well.
Many thoroughly enjoy the song for it being relatable to the American working class. Oliver Anthony’s lyrics about DC politicians, taxes, and welfare receipts were applauded by many conservative media personalities, including Matt Walsh and Dan Bongino, among others.
However, the song’s Fudge Rounds lyrics have raised eyebrows online. One netizen noted:
As many know, Fudge Rounds are chocolate cream icy cookies made by the Little Debbie company. The snack is extremely popular in America. Referring to the same, Oliver Anthony sang in the Rich Men North of Richmond song:
“Well, God, if you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds, taxes ought not to pay for our bags of fudge rounds.”
Certain netizens were not pleased with the lyrics as they believed it was ridiculing plus-size people and the poor.
Netizens react to Oliver Anthony’s Fudge Rounds lyrics
Internet users were quick to attack the singer for the Fudge Round lyrics and showed no sympathy online. A few tweets read:
Oliver Anthony responds to criticism
The musician took to Instagram to address the raging online criticism. While posting a picture of Fudge Rounds on the social networking site, he said in his caption that he was criticizing the government for not conceptualizing solutions for the poor. He said:
“Our government likes to throw money at problems, without conceptualizing real solutions that connect to the individuals involved. The lyrics contrast that some are left without any, and others are only left with the option of living on junk food.”
Anthony also added:
“Meanwhile our farming industry has been corporatized and sold out. Food is entirely too expensive, especially in a nation with abundant farmland. In politics, it's all about keeping people who are dependent, dependant.”
It seems like the singer’s intention was not to insult those who rely on welfare.
Meanwhile, Oliver Anthony has been making headlines for turning down an eight-million dollars record label deal. He expressed in an interview that he did not wish to tour around the world and sell tickets. Anthony explained that he simply wrote the song because he was suffering from depression. He also said:
“No editing, no agent, no bulls**t. Just some idiot and his guitar. The style of music that we should have never gotten away from in the first place.”
Anthony has amassed over 800K followers on his verified Instagram account.
