All of the song's proceeds will go to an organization that supports the families of fallen and wounded soldiers
Country singer John Rich and Fox News’ The Five are asking people to limit their discussions about politics.
Rich, half of country duo Big & Rich, teamed up with Fox New Channel’s The Five co-host Greg Gutfeld earlier this year to write the song “Shut Up About Politics,” which asks listeners to stop talking about politics so constantly. The song, which made its way to the No. 1 spot on the iTunes country songs chart, was performed by Rich, 45, on Thursday’s episode of The Five. (Watch it here.)
“Politics sucks, especially when it sneaks into places where it shouldn’t be,” Gutfeld, 54, said as he introduced Rich and the new song on the show. “Decades ago, our reliance on politics got out of hand when the political is now personal and vice versa. Now politics rears its ugly face at football games and superhero shows and we’re sick of it!”
The Five’s team — including co-hosts Dana Perino and Jesse Watters, along with guest co-host and former Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Donna Brazile — even explored Nashville, Tennessee, to help record the song.
The song is on sale for 99 cents and the track’s proceeds go to Folds Of Honor, an organization that grants scholarships to the families of fallen and wounded soldiers.
“It’s something that I’ve become very involved in and I think to me is one of the most powerful organizations helping the families of veterans,” the “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” singer said. In December 2018, he told PEOPLE Now that 10 percent of the proceeds from his Redneck Riviera whiskey also go to help the organization.
“I met this girl today from Florida who is on a Folds of Honor scholarship,” he told PEOPLE Now. “It’s pretty incredible.”
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Despite the new song’s lyrics, which state that he’s “tired of all the fighting and the bitching fits,” Rich has been open about his political leanings, even performing at President Donald Trump’s pre-inaugural gala.
In September 2018, Rich went viral on Twitter for criticizing Colin Kaepernick and Nike when the quarterback became the face of the company. Kaepernick notably protested racial inequality and police brutality by kneeling during the national anthem in 2016 — starting a movement within the NFL.
“Our Soundman just cut the Nike swoosh off his socks. Former marine. Get ready @Nike multiply that by the millions,” Rich tweeted in 2018.
The singer also spoke openly about opposing gun control legislation after country artists Tyler Hubbard, from Florida Georgia Line, and Dierks Bentley supported TOMS’ End Gun Violence Together campaign.
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“The issue with gun control, you look at it and you go, ‘These maniacs, these vicious people are taking a weapon and shooting people with it.’ And then the flip side of that is, right now, I’m in New York City and back in Nashville is my wife and my two little kids,” Rich said on Fox News in December 2018. “And if somebody breaks into my house, which rifle would you suggest I tell my wife to grab?”
Now, however, Rich wants political conversations to be limited to news chats as it just “ain’t nothing but a big pile of dirty tricks,” as the single’s lyrics say.
“Talk about politics when you’re watching the news but in regular life, people have other things that they’re worried about,” Rich said before performing the song on The Five. “Their jobs and their families and wanting to do well for themselves and their families.”