Queer country artist Adam Mac took to TikTok on Thursday (Sept. 21) to reveal that he removed himself from his upcoming headlining slot at Kentucky’s Tobacco Festival due to questions surrounding his sexuality.
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“The last 24 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind,” he began his video. “As some of you may know, the Chamber or Commerce for Russellville, Kentucky, where I’m from, announced earlier this week that I would be headlining the annual Tobacco Festival.”
Mac explained that he received a phone call from someone on the festival’s board who told him that “there were some board members and some people in town who had some questions about what kind of performance I would be putting on at the Tobacco Festival. She wanted to ensure that I would not be promoting homosexuality or sexuality in a family friendly environment.”
He continued, “I don’t really know what they expected I was going to do other than come and put on a hell of a show like we do. It was made aware to me that there were people in the town that were very upset that they would have a gay person headline the festival. To know that there are people who are angry that they asked me to come and perform in a town that I was raised in for 21 years of my life. Sure, they have the right to not listen to my music. They have the right to not come to my show. But what’s happening now is they are protesting, they’re showing up at the chamber, they made comments online and to the chamber that they will be holding protests at the show, which is just so disheartening.”
Mac, who is sporting a Maren Morris “lunatic country music person” t-shirt in the clip, revealed that he debated whether or not to perform at the festival, before ultimately deciding to “cancel” his performance. “I’m really sad about it,” he said. “I really, really wanted to be there.”
See his full TikTok below.
