Mike Huckabee forced to resign from the CMA foundation’s board amid criticism

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I tend to think that country music is littered with arrogant MAGA dude-bros, but that’s a sh-tty stereotype on my part. Country music’s biggest personalities are more dynamic than that, and in Trump’s America, I suspect that even the most famous red-state celebrities are feeling a bit queasy about any or all of the GOP’s agenda. This week, the Country Music Association announced new board members for their charitable foundation. One of the new board members was former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, the same dude who caped for a child molester named Josh Duggar, and then freaked the f–k out because a black woman (Beyonce) sang about f–king her husband and how she’s proud to be black. Huckabee also hates gay people and trans people and wants them all to have zero rights in America. In many ways, Huckabee is an example of a more “moderate” force in the current GOP. But country music stars still didn’t want him near their CMA foundation.

On Wednesday, the Country Music Association announced the newest members of the board of its charitable foundation: singer Chris Young and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (R). The announcement of the latter immediately raised eyebrows in Nashville, because the CMA actively tries to stay out of politics — and some in the industry protested because of his political views. Then, about 24 hours after the announcement, Huckabee resigned.

“The CMA Foundation has accepted former Governor Mike Huckabee’s resignation from its Board of Directors, effective immediately,” a CMA spokeswoman said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.

The harshest public condemnation came from manager Jason Owen, who called Huckabee’s appointment “grossly offensive” and “a detrimentally poor choice by CMA and its leaders.” Owen’s management company, Sandbox, represents country music stars such as Faith Hill, Kacey Musgraves and Little Big Town, currently featured on the front page of the CMA Foundation’s web site. He also co-owns the label Monument Records, a division of Sony Music, with high-profile songwriter-producer Shane McAnally.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must let you know moving forward, Sandbox and Monument will no longer support the CMA Foundation in any way (this includes everyone we represent collectively) considering the heartbreaking news shared today regarding Mike Huckabee appointee/elected to the CMA Foundation,” he wrote in a letter to CMA chief executive Sarah Trahern and Director of Community Outreach Tiffany Kerns. “Further, we find it hard to support the organization as a whole as a result.”

Owen, who is openly gay, continued: “I have a child and two on the way. This man has made it clear that my family is not welcome in his America. And the CMA has opened their arms to him, making him feel welcome and relevant. Huckabee speaks of the sort of things that would suggest my family is morally beneath his and uses language that has a profoundly negative impact upon young people all across this country. Not to mention how harmful and damaging his deep involvement with the NRA is. What a shameful choice. I will not participate in any organization that elevates people like this to positions that amplify their sick voices.”

[From The Washington Post]

WaPo goes on to say that on several country-music-industry sites, the Huckabee appointment had gone over like a lead balloon, mostly because the Country Music Association and the foundation are both supposed to be apolitical (as in, there would be anger if Bill Clinton was appointed too). But, Hits Daily Double wrote that “There’s great concern and protest over [Huckabee’s] appointment, and rightfully so. Many in Nashville are sharing feelings of embarrassment for our country and industry.” Interesting. I find Jason Owen’s work here commendable, and I had no idea that he was such a behind-the-scenes power player in country-music management and agency. The CMA should have known better to even appoint Huckabee, but I’m glad that this was the outcome – that Huckabee was publicly called out for his deplorable beliefs, and that he had to resign amid a wave of criticism. Petty justice.

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Photos courtesy of Getty.

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19 Responses to “Mike Huckabee forced to resign from the CMA foundation’s board amid criticism”

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  1. Nicole says:

    CMA is so stupid for this. You’re apolitical but the first person you throw that out the window for is a hateful bigot. Wow.

  2. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    I love the fact that in the middle of the news excerpt is an ad with a handcuffed person citing DWI charges lol. Fly away little Huckabee.

  3. kNY says:

    Just when I think Sarah is the worst Huckabee, Mike proves me wrong. The rotten apple doesn’t fall far from the rotten tree.

    • Bridget says:

      I’m from Washington State. Mike Huckabee will always have a special place in Hell for the action he took as governor – committing Maurice Clemmons sentence without even reading his goddamn file. Who then went in cold blood to a coffee shop and assassinated 4 police officers. It is one of those crimes that still haunts me.

      • aims says:

        Agreed. Mike is a disgusting human being. He’s a racist,homophobic, transphobic, piece of garbage. He is a terrible person and he has raised a terrible person. He hides behind his religious beliefs to justify his bigotry.

  4. Elkie says:

    *insert Grumpy Cat Good meme*

    Of course it’s equal rights for the LGBT community that are destroying society, whilst good “Christians” raise pathological liars & dog torturers, tweet racist BS and defend serial child molesters!

    So let us join the Tealibangelicals in the fight to keep holy matrimony as the union between one man, one woman, two ex-wives, multiple mistresses, a changing room full of half-naked fifteen year-old girls, a couple of porn stars who – *vomits* – remind him of his daughter and nineteen-and-counting sexual harassment & assault victims…

  5. feebee says:

    Well done Country Music Land! It was a weird mistake to make but impressed with how it was forcefully tackled and speedily resolved.

    Great pic of Huckabee….. can you hear them Huck? They’re not impressed with you. At. All.

  6. Nancy says:

    He makes my skin crawl. Petty, years ago on American Idol, Adam Lambert v. Kris Allen. This AH had a state wide crusade to make sure the homosexual Lambert didn’t win, he didn’t give a shit if Allen won, as long as Adam didn’t. His far right agenda is frightening, and even more frightening is the fact he fathered Sarah Sanders. *I don’t call gay men homosexuals, was using the word fat boy uses when being polite*

    • Bridget says:

      He is a nasty piece of work, and somehow for a while tried to brand himself as a more ‘moderate’ choice. No f-ing thanks.

  7. Lirko says:

    (here comes some real mature insight) Hahaha!

    • Lirko says:

      Seriously, though – what made me crazy was how he, in his book, went on and on about how Elvis was his hero and just so amazing bla bla bla, failing to acknowledge how controversial Elvis and his “hip/torso rotations” were at the time. “Grown ups” in that era, considered it simulated sex on stage. Hence all the girls swooning, etc. YET, as a previous poster mentioned, he went for Beyonce and Jay-Z for their album that was about their love/lust for each other as a married couple. Ever read the chapter in the old testament Song of Solomon, Mr. Huckabee? Its the same idea there, sir. Hypocrite.

  8. grabbyhands says:

    That fact that he was considered at all proves that they’re not as apolitical as they like to say.

  9. Olenna says:

    Well said, Mr. Owen!

  10. Ally says:

    Please don’t post a Mike Huckabee article without including the picture that embodies the Large Adult (Fail)Son meme:

    https://mobile.twitter.com/JuliusIrvington/status/555135832835629056

  11. Marnie says:

    Appointing him in the first place was just crazy.