Country superstar Luke Combs is pushing back on labels from both sides of the political aisle, saying rejecting racism shouldn’t automatically brand someone as ‘liberal.’
In a wide-ranging conversation touching on culture, politics and the evolution of country music, Combs addressed criticism he faced in recent years — particularly after speaking out during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement and apologizing for past use of Confederate flag imagery.
During the New York Times’ ‘Popcast,’ Combs was asked if he regrets how he handled that criticism, particularly now that culture and country music specifically have shifted away from those kinds of call-outs.
He said that he doesn’t regret it.
‘It’s funny. There’s always something in my video. It’s like, ‘Well I can’t believe you’d like Luke Combs, he’s a liberal’ or whatever it is. … One, I’ve never said what I am. That’s the thing that blows me away the most about it is, like, basically seven or whatever years ago, five, six years ago now, me saying that I was not a racist was then people saying, ‘Well then you must be a liberal’ … I’m not sure those things really [equate].
‘I’ve been accused of a million things, man. Like, I would consider myself heavily moderate in everything. … That’s to the point where like I’m not liberal enough for liberals, and I’m not conservative enough for conservatives, right? And I kind of like it that way.
‘Also I kind of like people not really (knowing) what I have going on politically. Like, why do we all care what everybody else is? … I have friends that are liberal. I have tons of friends that are conservative. You know, I have friends all across the board.’
‘There was a time when people were trying to actively cancel me for basically saying like, ‘Hey, man. Well, this guy’s, you know, he’s a liberal or whatever.’ … I never said that.’
The host asked, ‘You’re in an interesting industry. The reason I’m framing it this way is, like, you’re in one of the only mainstream American industries where the norm is to not say ‘I’m not a racist’ … and especially now, like you could be canceled from the right.’
‘Oh, certainly you could be for sure. For sure. And I mean, listen, there was a time when people were trying to actively cancel me for basically saying like, ‘Hey, man. Well, this guy’s, you know, he’s a liberal or whatever.’ … I never said that. Never said I was liberal. … How is it hard to say you’re not like a racist? That’s all I’m saying.’
Combs released his first EP, ‘The Way She Rides,’ in 2014, which was years prior to the release of his debut album, ‘This One’s for You,’ in 2017. Combs’ popular song ‘Hurricane’ was featured on this album, as well as ‘When It Rains It Pours.’
Many viral Combs moments have come from his cover of Tracy Chapman’s ‘Fast Car.’ After performing ‘Fast Car’ at many of his shows, the singer released the cover in 2023. His cover of the ’80s song rose to the top of music charts.
Aside from his chart-topping music, Combs is married to Nicole Hocking. The two tied the knot in August 2020 in Florida before welcoming their three sons, Tex Lawrence Combs, Beau Lee Combs and Chet Wiley Combs.
Fox News Digital’s Ashlyn Messier contributed to this report.