Tate McRae's new album So Close to What has not only led her to become the first Canadian woman to top the Billboard 200 in the 2020s, but also to become a new favourite pop girl for many. (Those who can get past the cursive singing, anyway.)
However, McRae has taken a fall from folks' good graces in general today by way of an Instagram Story post of an orange jersey with her name on it ("T8"), as well as the "MW" logo included in the branding for merchandise related to Morgan Wallen's upcoming album, I'm the Problem.
Rumours that the two artists were collaborating immediately began swirling, with McRae going on to allegedly confirm them on her Discord channel, writing, "@everyone i know you've seen the rumours and it's true btw i am collaborating with morgan wallen. we are in the studio rn [,] the song will probably be out mid summer," according to a screenshot shared on the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
Now, of course that response could have been photoshopped by someone, but even the jersey is a pretty dead giveaway that the pop star and the controversial country artist are up to something. If you somehow missed it, Wallen essentially began his rise to inescapable prominence after a video of him "playfully" yelling a racial slur went viral in 2021. Although he's not as overt in his political affiliations as, say, Jason Aldean, he's still probably not the best contemporary for McRae to align herself with.
UPDATE (4/16, 5:32 p.m. ET): McRae has been confirmed among the artists contributing to Wallen's album. She joins Post Malone, Eric Church and others.
One also can't ignore the timing of this and the upcoming Canadian federal election on April 28, with little doubt that, despite his major losses in the polls, Pierre Poliviere will continue the Conservative Party's reign over Alberta. While the singer hasn't exactly been forthright about her political beliefs, it's safe to say that Wallen and many of his fans would count the comforts of McRae's predominantly right-wing home province as God's country.
People maybe should have been this loud when Post Malone collaborated with Wallen on "I Had Some Help" last year (and head's up, they're working together again on a new single called "I Ain't Coming Back," out later this week), but that — nor the fact that he's a white dude — is neither here nor there. See some of the funniest posts reacting to the news below.