John Rich says he chose free speech over music industry approval

John Rich is not afraid to speak his mind. 

During an appearance on “The Rubin Report,” the 52-year-old country artist opened up about speaking his mind amid the era of cancel culture.

“I could give you the tough guy answer and say, I didn’t care what they thought. That’s not true,” Rich said of speaking up throughout the years. 

“At one point, I had to kind of look at the back and forth of that whole scenario and say, ‘Well, is the music industry’s approval of me more important to me than my right to free speech?'” Rich, who has received numerous accolades through his 30-plus years in country music, asked. 

John Rich said he’d rather take a “bloody nose” than be silenced.  (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

“Is it more important to me than setting an example for my two sons? Do I want to be the guy that yells at the TV on the evening news and goes, ‘Look at what these people are doing to our country’ and then turn right around, put on my boots and my hat and walk the red carpet and play patty cake with the exact same industry people that are doing the things I’ve been yelling at?'”

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“Well, that’s hypocritical,” he continued. “And I decided one day, ‘No, I’m just not going to do it. I don’t know what the fallout’s going to be. But I’d rather say what I want to say, be an actual American. And if there’s a bloody nose to take, then I guess I’ll take it. And I did take a lot of bloody noses and still do.”

The country star spoke openly about his beliefs during an appearance on “The Rubin Report.” (Johnny Louis/Getty Images)

“But what I’ve learned is that the reciprocation from the other side, people that are glad you said what you said, they’re glad you had enough intestinal fortitude to stick your face out there and take the pop, they all come rushing to your back, Dave. They all show up by tens of millions.”

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As country music evolves, Rich said the political landscape has pushed more artists to vocalize their beliefs. 

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“I think when Trump won that second time, and we had been through four years of Biden and what that did to the music industry, what that did to people’s livelihoods – I think, coming out the other side of that, you finally saw artists going, ‘You know what, enough is enough, I’m putting them up, I’m going to say what I think.'”

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“Country music wasn’t founded and is not popular because it was founded on the backs of wishy-washy people,” he continued. “I mean, it was Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn and [Merle] Haggard and Willie [Nelson] and Waylon [Jennings] and I mean artists that did not care what you thought about what they had to say.”

Rich has been a part of the country music industry for over 30 years.  (Jeffrey Mayer)

“They’re like, ‘This is what I think. I’m going to put it into a song. You decide if you like it or not.’ They became the pillars of country music,” he continued. “So yes, I do see artists starting to turn back in that direction. And I think the music industry doesn’t have a choice but to go along with it, because the audience is so hardcore against a lot of the bad things that have happened to them. If you go the other direction, the phrase I use is they will ‘Dixie Chicks’ you.”