Kacey Musgraves Hits Back at Kristi Noem Over Dallas Show With James Talarico
Kacey Musgraves hit back at Kristi Noem after Noem criticised her Dallas show with Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico. Her reply brought up Noem's own account of shooting her dog. The exchange played out on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, after concert photos were posted.
Musgraves hosted Talarico at her stop in Dallas, Texas, on her Middle of Nowhere tour, the concert run under that name. Talarico is running as a Democrat for the US Senate in Texas, which means he is seeking to represent the state in the upper house of Congress. The appearance was confirmed through photos shared after the show, as reported by Rolling Stone. It placed a campaign hopeful in a music venue, in front of a concert crowd.
Talarico shared several photos from the night. They included a backstage selfie with Musgraves, taken with a bedazzled effect that adds sparkling jewels to the image. The post presented the visit as friendly. It contained no speech or endorsement statement.
Noem answered with two posts on X. In one, she wrote that she would take Ella Langley over Kacey Musgraves any day. In the other, she wrote that she would take Ken Paxton over James Talarico when choosing Texas. Both posts named a preference, pairing a music choice with a political choice.
Langley, who was named in the post, stepped aside from the exchange. She untagged herself from Noem's post about Musgraves and Talarico. An untag removes the link that connects an account to a message. It does not delete the post itself.
Musgraves then replied directly to Noem. Her full message read: "I don't think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it." The post was short. It used Noem's words against her.
The final line refers to a story Noem told herself. In her memoir, an autobiographical book about her life and career, Noem wrote about shooting her 14-month-old dog Cricket in a gravel pit, as reported by Rolling Stone. That account drew wide attention when the book was published. Musgraves added no further explanation to her reply.
What makes this stand out is the speed of the chain. A tour photo led to political posts. A political post led to an untag. An untag led to a comeback that revived a memoir story from years earlier.
