Normally I don’t comment too much on artists’ personalities and media personas, unless it’s directly relevant to the music on their record and makes for an intriguing narrative. However, for the past eighteen months I’ve uncovered a trend among country fans to throw various names (some sexist, others just generally offensive) in Kacey Musgraves’ direction, for nothing to do with her music. The trend really caught wind at the CMA Awards in 2013, when Miranda Lambert beat Kacey to Female Vocalist of the Year and the camera panned to Kacey’s face. This has since been dubbed “resting bitch face”, because her neutral expression snowballed into a huge social media rumor that she and Miranda were in a feud, and Kacey was mad her “rival” beat her to the podium.
At the time, I thought it was pretty ridiculous, but even when the general consensus switched to a simple lack of media training (all audience members are expected to fake theatrical emotions it seems), the concept that Kacey was not a nice person seemed to hang around. The evidence for such a claim is pretty remote; she is extremely kind to her fans on social media, at meet and greets and the like (I can testify to that one), and is always ecstatically grateful whenever something good happens in her career. As far as I can see, she is a sweet-natured, down-to-Earth and genuine human being, and that extends to her live presence as well.
A “feud” with Bobby Bones seemed to pick up steam last year. He aired a snippet of audio on his show from an interview with Kacey claiming that she sounded bored, and she took to Twitter to complain that he had unfairly edited her and that it was very early in the morning when it was recorded. While it could be true or untrue (I’d be bored if I was forced to sit in a room with Bobby Bones), it does reinforce the fact that those in the mainstream industry seem to have a bone to pick with Kacey, because Bobby was the one essentially launching a rumor to a mass audience. Placing an opinion like that in the heads of the less knowledgeable (regarding Kacey’s personality) is dangerous because it has the tendency to gain traction as fact. And that’s not fair on anyone. People should be allowed to make up their own minds without assholes attempting to lead them one way or another.
So why do people think Kacey Musgraves is a bitch? I believe it comes down to the fact that she’s not party to the theatrics. Sure, among friends she appears as normal, but place her in the spotlight and she’s as moderately reserved and casual as any ordinary person would be. She doesn’t sparkle and shimmer like Taylor Swift with her wide open mouth and giggles. She doesn’t demand the attention of the room with semi-aggressive performances but sweet as pie Texas charm. She’s not a pop star or celebrity, in that sense of the word. She’s a songwriter and a musician – a performer when the time is right – but she’s just a creative person who’s been thrust rather abruptly onto center stage, and that is a lot to deal with. Fair play to her for refusing to play up to the cameras at all times, letting her face relax and not being obsessed with how she’s coming across all the time. That’s not a sign of being a bitch – that’s just being a normal human being who isn’t beset with the spotlight.
I’ve heard country fans and industry folk alike be derogatory about her personality, and apart from anything else, it’s insulting to what’s important – the music. Don’t tell someone with music as interesting as Kacey’s that she has to be an MTV-esque, All American Girl. Would you expect that from her idol, John Prine, or someone like Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard? They are allowed to wear as foul an expression as they want, and even artists at the same stage of her career (notably male ones) are let off the hook for acting far worse than she ever has. What it says about you is that you have certain expectations, not just of women but of people who happen to be plastered all over TV. Unlike others (cough Taylor Swift cough Kim Kardashian), Kacey seems like she would be quite happy just making music without any of the intrusive fame, and hasn’t endlessly campaigned for further exposure.
Maybe you’re the bitch for thinking that makes her a bad person.
