Country music star Kacey Musgraves delivered a pointed barb at former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Monday, Oct. 12, invoking Noem’s widely criticized admission that she once shot her own pet dog.
The online clash began after James Talarico, the Democratic nominee running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, attended Musgraves’ concert in Dallas on Saturday. Talarico shared pictures from the Middle of Nowhere tour stop on social media, including a selfie with the Grammy-winning musician, writing, “Thank you for having me last night, Kacey Musgraves!”
The appearance drew an unsolicited reaction from Noem, who re-shared the post on X while voicing her preference for another country artist and Talarico’s Republican rival, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. “I’ll take [Ella Langley] over Kacey Musgraves any day,” Noem posted, referencing Langley’s hit single. “And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico.”
Musgraves responded directly to the former cabinet official’s commentary later on Monday. Quote-tweeting Noem, Musgraves wrote: “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it.”
Backlash and the Memoir Controversy
Musgraves’ retort referred to an episode Noem recounted in her 2024 memoir, “No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward.” In the book, the former South Dakota governor detailed shooting and killing her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer, Cricket, in a gravel pit after deeming the dog untrainable and aggressive toward livestock and people. The disclosure ignited broad public backlash at the time, which analysts widely viewed as damaging to her political standing.
Following the public outcry in 2024, Noem defended the decision online, arguing that putting down dangerous animals was a difficult reality of ranch life. She stated that the animal had attacked chickens and bitten her, asserting she acted responsibly as a parent, owner, and neighbor under South Dakota laws.
Neither Paxton nor Langley took part in Monday’s exchange. Langley, whose breakout hit “Choosin’ Texas” spent 24 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 before being supplanted earlier this month, appeared to distance herself from the feud by untagging her handle from Noem’s initial post, according to reports by Rolling Stone and Variety.
Political Tension Surrounding Texas Tour
The public sparring arrives as Musgraves concludes the Texas portion of her current tour. The singer, who is 38, finished a five-night run across Houston, Dallas, and Austin on Sunday before heading toward upcoming concert dates in Denver, Salt Lake City, and Los Angeles.
Talarico’s backstage reception in Dallas came shortly after another major Texas music figure threw support behind the candidate’s campaign. Country music icon Willie Nelson publicly endorsed the Democratic candidate last week, urging Texans in a campaign video to cast their ballots for Talarico in the Senate contest.
Noem, 54, was removed as Homeland Security secretary by President Donald Trump in March following heavy scrutiny on Capitol Hill and controversies surrounding department expenditures and operations, Rolling Stone reported. She is currently serving as a U.S. special envoy, according to Billboard.
As of late Monday, Noem had not issued a public response to Musgraves’ post.
