John Rich Supports Carrie Underwood Amid Anti-Mask Backlash: ‘It’s Freedom of Speech Unless You Disagree With the Mob’

John Rich is showing his support for Carrie Underwood in the midst of a Twitter firestorm. 

Underwood is facing extensive backlash on the social media platform after liking an anti-mask Tweet from conservative commentator Matt Walsh. 

The Tweet Underwood liked showcased a video of Walsh’s speech at a recent Nashville Schools Board meeting where he “spoke out against the cruel and indefensible mask mandate for children.”

As news of her support of the anti-mask rhetoric spread around the internet, fellow country singer John Rich took to Twitter to show his support for the “Cry Pretty” singer. 

“I say @carrieunderwood can like whatever tweet she wants to like. Who are ‘they’ to shout her down?,” he wrote. “Watch out, she’s a tough Okie gal:) You see what’s going on here? It’s ‘freedom of speech unless you disagree with the mob.’

Rich closed his post with the hashtag, #CarrieTakeTheWheel.

https://t.co/1M7m6Lfjfz
I say @carrieunderwood can like whatever tweet she wants to like. Who are “they” to shout her down? Watch out, she’s a tough Okie gal:) You see what’s going on here? It’s “freedom of speech unless you disagree with the mob.” #CarrieTakeTheWheel

— John Rich (@johnrich) August 17, 2021

While some users, like Rich, supported Underwood, many were outraged. 

“I just deleted all of Carrie Underwood songs from my Spotify. I’m not supporting that! #WearAMask,” one user wrote. 

Another user shared, “Carrie Underwood being a God-over-Science person is the least surprising thing I’ve heard today. Delta take the wheel…”

Walsh’s video embedded within his Tweet has over 1.1 million views. 

In the clip, Walsh said that he believes Covid-19 poses “almost no threat to our kids at all,” and that a mask mandate should be seen as “child abuse.” He went on to criticize the school board for “teaching them that the air is toxic, that everyone around them is sick.”

Masking children in schools is a hot topic in the state of Tennessee this week. Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, signed an executive order on Monday (Aug. 16) allowing parents to opt out of mask mandates at school.  

The executive order comes as the state of Tennessee is reporting a surge in Covid-19 cases among children. According to Tennessee Department of Health data, 9,074 school-aged children have tested positive for the virus in the past 14 days. The number of children infected has increased by 950% in just one month, according to Fox 17.