Do we like Tate McRae?
Our score: 7 out of 10. Decent record, open support for LGBTQ+ fans and causes, marked down for the Morgan Wallen duet and a vague answer on politics.
Tate McRae is a Calgary-born pop star who now lives in California. Her song “greedy” took off on TikTok in 2023 and gave her a first top-10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. Her later duet with Morgan Wallen, “What I Want,” became her first Hot 100 number one.
The fresh stoush is about politics. In February she appeared in an NBC promo for Team USA ahead of the Winter Olympics, and some Canadians accused her of dropping the maple leaf. She replied on Instagram with a childhood photo waving a Canadian flag, captioned “y'all know I'm Canada down.”
By August the chatter had turned into MAGA rumours. They grew out of the Wallen duet and the Olympics ad. Wallen has never outright endorsed Trump or the Republican Party, but he has copped criticism since a 2021 TMZ video showed him using a racial slur. Asked about it in Variety, McRae said it was “pretty obvious what kind of person I am and the things I support.”
Here's the harm check. We found no anti-LGBTQ+, anti-woman or anti-planet words or acts from her, and nothing on vaccines, climate or migrants. The only black mark is the company: one duet with Wallen, plus an answer on politics that left plenty of fans wanting more. It's one project and a vague answer, so it earns an asterisk and not a fail.
On the good-person test, there's nothing to report. We found no court cases, no accusations of mistreating staff or fans, and no scandals from established outlets. Searches for leaks and gossip turned up only junk sites, which we've ignored.
So, would we support her? Mostly yes. Fans who want a loud denunciation of MAGA won't get one, but her own record shows support for queer fans and women's causes and nothing that hurts anyone. If she lands another Wallen-style collab, we'll look again.