Bobby Bones Plays Cancer Card in Kacey Musgraves Feud
As a continuation of the feud that Clear Channel flagship DJ Bobby Bones got into with Kacey Musgraves in January, the radio personality has posted a new video purportedly pouring his heart out to the Grammy winner and wanting to patch things up, going as far as evoking the name of Cancer to try and find some sort of conclusion to the feud. “It would mean a lot to me if you came and played ‘Joy’ week, which is all about choosing joy over fighting Cancer,” Bobby says in a crude video taken at the Madison, Wisconsin airport, with Bobby slouched back in a leather chair, engrossed in a big green jacket.
Aside from the poor syntax of alluding that anyone would choose anything over fighting Cancer, the new video once again shows Bobby’s tendency to place blame on others while framing it in the context of an apology, to believe that as a DJ he’s somehow an equal to the artists he covers and deserves their acknowledgement and friendship, while throwing the big ‘C’ ball into Kacey’s court so if she doesn’t respond or acquiesce, then she’s somehow the big bitch.
The unpleasantness between Kacey and Bobby all began on November 5th, 2013, the day before the 2013 CMA Awards. Musgraves was interviewed by Bones as part of a pre-awards production, and the interview lasted roughly 1 1/2 minutes. But the full interview never aired on The Bobby Bones Show. Bobby took about 20 seconds of the interview, and used it as part of a segment he called, “Is Kacey Musgraves Annoyed?” The segment basically lampoons Kacey as being rude, uninterested, and awkward. Later Bones attempted to reach out to Musgraves through Twitter, and when she didn’t respond, Bones became belligerent (a recurring theme with the DJ and Twitter), and called Musgraves (and himself) a “shit head.”
Anti Bobby Bones Billboards Spring Up in Nashville
When Bones wouldn’t get the hint that Kacey wanted nothing to do with him, she finally said in part, “I am a songwriter and a musician. That’s what I’ve been passionate about my entire life and it’s really sad that the focus got taken away from that. Above all- I’m human. Not a robot. I don’t stroke egos and that doesn’t make me a “shit head.” When you hear the music that means so much to me to make, that’s all that should matter.”
What seems to be fundamentally alluding Bobby Bones is that Kacey Musgraves wants nothing to do with him, and furthermore, doesn’t see any reason why she should have to, while Bones apparently believes it is his right to be heard and acknowledged by Kacey, or some injustice has been done. Maybe Kacey will decide to make an appearance on his show, and maybe the two will patch things up. And if that’s the case, it will be Kacey being the bigger person. But if Kacey knew best, she would continue to ignore him, and if Bobby knew best, he would honor Kacey’s wishes of being left alone and move on.
March 4, 2014 @ 9:53 am
Here’s hoping she tells this poser to take his hipster glasses and stick them up his ass.
March 4, 2014 @ 9:56 am
This guy is just fucking insufferable.
March 4, 2014 @ 10:02 am
What’s worse than an asshole with a radio show? An asshole with a radio show and a Twitter account.
March 4, 2014 @ 11:25 am
And even worse than that: a passive-aggressive asshole with a radio show and Twitter account.
March 4, 2014 @ 10:10 am
Wonder how long until someone shows up and says there are “errors” in this story, but then never actually states what they are.
March 4, 2014 @ 10:11 am
I believe the favored term is “factual inaccuracies.” 😉
March 4, 2014 @ 10:14 am
Wait..why wouldn’t someone want to fight cancer? Am I misreading the whole ??’…choosing joy over fighting Cancer,..” remark
March 4, 2014 @ 10:56 am
No, it makes no sense. This guy makes more money than my entire readership combined to speak. And he speaks to more people than anyone else in “country” music.
March 4, 2014 @ 11:23 am
I saw a comment under your FB post that explained the “joy over fighting cancer” thing. Here’s a link with more info:
http://pimpinjoy.com/about.html
My question is that if he was really sincere about wanting to make amends and patch things up or whatever, why make this invitation public?
March 5, 2014 @ 1:11 pm
Thanks for the link. I saw this too, but I don’t see how it materially changes what Bobby Bones said. It still was a mis-speak or an error in syntax. The website says,
“Judy’s character and message have driven Amy to also choose joy (she even got it tattooed on her wrist in her mom”™s handwriting) and in turn has brought that positivity into the Bobby Bones Show studio daily. To honor Amy and her mom, we’re calling March 3-7 Pimpin Joy Week on the Bobby Bones Show. We’re not looking for donations or money. We want to inspire, influence and encourage people to Choose Joy, to spread happiness, to do good things for others and share it with the Bobby Bones Show and the world tweeting and instagramming pictures using #PIMPINJOY”
Though it talks about choosing joy, it says nothing about choosing joy OVER fighting Cancer. In fact earlier in the ‘About’ section it says,
“Amy’s mom, Judy, has been battling Cancer for about 2 years. She’s fought and won but Cancer persisted and she’s currently undergoing more treatment in Houston.”
The implication of what Bobby Bones said, twice, when taken literally would be that Judy has decided to NOT fight Cancer, and instead decided to succumb to it and choose joy instead. In truth this is not the case whatsoever. Judy is continuing to fight Cancer, and deciding to choose joy over being bitter about her situation, choosing to be nice to everyone she meets.
Either way as you state, Bobby Bones is using Cancer as sort of a game piece in his feud with Kacey Musgraves. And now, if he wished, he could attack me for attacking his “Pimpin’ Joy” campaign and pro Cancer for questioning his motives.
March 4, 2014 @ 10:24 am
Could the guy care any less in the video?
I don’t know about you, but if I was going to apologize, I’d not do it slouched like an overfilled bag of crap at an airport terminal, looking like I just rolled out of bed.
I’d also quit with the “What’s your fucking problem” arms.
But then again, I’d probably mean the apology.
How much do you want to bet the follow up video after Musgraves ignores this half-assed request begins with “Kacey doesn’t care about cancer!!!”?
March 4, 2014 @ 11:04 am
I’m guessing in Bobby Bones’ mind, the relaxed, spontaneous environment of the video (that was probably carefully thought out) makes it more “real” and shows that he’s just a genuine dude wanting to reach out. At one point he’s like “I’m in Madison, Wisconsin right now” as if that has anything to do with anything, and somehow makes the whole thing more real and genuine.
This guy has such a classic, predictable air of self-centerdness, and the way he tries to hide it makes it even more obvious.
All that said, for some strange reason I want to like the dude, and I can understand why others do. He just needs to stop with all the extra-curricular stuff and let his work speak for itself. Though at this point, I’m not sure if that speaks highly of him either. But this type of stuff only makes it worse
March 4, 2014 @ 11:24 am
I suppose I can see where you’re coming from. But if I was him I’d stop trying to go for “real and genuine” and try a little “scripted and staged”.
“Real and genuine” doesn’t really work unless you’re at least ONE of those things.
March 6, 2014 @ 4:38 pm
Yeah agreed. Also the fact that he feels the need to publicly invite her over this video, as apposed to just contacting her directly to actually genuinely invite her. It shows that all he’s interested in is his public image, and how he wants others to think he’s the “better man.”
March 4, 2014 @ 10:26 am
Shake the dust off of your feet and throw those shoes away. Do not look back, walk away. No more dirt sandwiches.
March 4, 2014 @ 11:35 am
If I was going to apologize to someone, I’d pick up the phone and call them. I sure as hell wouldn’t post a public video on Youtube. What a douche bag.
March 4, 2014 @ 12:20 pm
This guy just keeps showing himself to be more and more of a dick.
To answer who question who’d choose not to fight cancer though… me.
I’ve already decided that if I ever have cancer other than testicular, skin, breast, or lymphatic (all cancers that have good long-term prognosis with early detection) I’m not fighting it, I’m not going through months/years of radiation, chemo, surgery, etc. to extend my life by a few years, quality vs. quantity, I’d just enjoy the time I had left.
April 5, 2014 @ 6:52 am
Not fighting cancer. You clearly have never been diagnosed. Don’t say this is what you will do if you have never been through it. Unless you have no family or people who you care about or care about you then you will fight. And if you are willing to fight for one type cancer then how can you say you won’t fight. I was diagnosed and I love that the show did pimpin joy because it reminds me to choose joy rather than feeling sorry for myself. I will fight for my life every time and I’ve gone through treatments twice and I’m 27 so if you haven’t gone through it shut up
March 4, 2014 @ 12:27 pm
Bobby Bones seems like a royal d-bag but he’s not even a blip on my radar when it comes to country music and neither is Kacey Musgraves. The music she plays is hardly what I call country music and I’ve never listened to bobby Bones’ raio show and I guess what I’m getting at is that I’m having a hard time seeing what relevance this whole “feud” has to country music.
March 4, 2014 @ 12:44 pm
Well, Bobby Bones is the biggest, most listened to DJ in country music right now, and Kacey Musgraves just won the Grammy for both Song and Album of the Year. Neither of them may not matter you you specifically whatsoever and I respect that, but to them say that means they don’t matter at all is vanity. I don’t mean to call you vain, I’m just saying obviously these to people have a very huge influence in the realm of what here and now people consider “country” music, and that is why it is important.
March 4, 2014 @ 2:29 pm
I see what you mean. Granted, I’d take Kacey over Taylor swift or miranda lambert or carrie Underwood any day but I’ve never thought of her as country. I also didn’t realize she had won those 2 Grammys or that bobby bones was thought. Guess I’m a little behind on what’s happening in mainstream music, hahaa.
March 7, 2014 @ 10:38 am
This is the smartest thing I have read yet. At least you realize those things.
March 4, 2014 @ 12:37 pm
This reminds me of Norm MacDonald’s bit called “Courageous Battle:”
http://allthingscomedy.com/contents/910/17-norm-macdonald—%22courageous-battle%22-podcast
March 4, 2014 @ 3:18 pm
It makes no sense… It’s like they’re not fighting but they are.. and he wants to patch up their non-existent feud…?
This guy’s a joke.
March 4, 2014 @ 4:14 pm
Seriously. How can anyone that listens to country music have any respect for this douche canoe!??!!
March 7, 2014 @ 10:38 am
I don’t know, maybe you should ask Tim McGraw, Jake Owen, Lady A or any other star who is consistently on the show.
March 4, 2014 @ 5:19 pm
GET OUT OF MY AIRPORT.
March 4, 2014 @ 5:23 pm
I hope Kacey ignores this dickhead. I really like Kacey, but I have a bad feeling that Nashville is going to be slinging mud at her to try to keep her down.
March 4, 2014 @ 8:43 pm
That video was pathetic. Sit up and open your eyes, Mr. Voice of Country Music.
March 4, 2014 @ 9:16 pm
I literally heard my mothers voice in my head watching it: “Sit up straight!”.
March 4, 2014 @ 9:31 pm
I think why you want to like him is his has that “wounded bird” shtick going for him. That (I don’t know) self loathing pathetic way of acting that disarms some people.
I just see a pathetic worthless guy. I mean if you were in a foxhole or about to spend a day doing manual labor (like laying concrete or something), would you want that guy next to you? Hell no you wouldn’t.
The country music I grew up with was a lot about common, hard working, proud and self-reliant men. Bobby Bones is the polar opposite of that. It shouldn’t irritate me so much he’s involved with country music but it does. He just isn’t “a man”.
March 5, 2014 @ 7:16 am
Well put…I would love to see this guy forced to do anything like that (concrete work etc) great mental image thanks for that!
And I do see why this deserves coverage on here (him being the new “voice” of country muzak and what not), but I’ll second what several others have said in that this is the only place I’ve read / heard / seen anything about this guy…..I think that’s a good thing, as it shows how little impact this “change” has really had, which is negligible at best.
I guess it also goes to show how fewer and fewer people are listening to AM/FM radio (sounds like a lot of people have yet to hear him on the radio…also somewhat of a biased crowd but still…)
March 5, 2014 @ 1:16 pm
As soon as it was put out there that Clear Channel wanted to make this guy like the Dick Clark or Ryan Secreast of country music, especially after Clear Channel partnered with CMT, I decided I needed to cover the Bobby Bones story step for step to sort of nip this thing in the bud as opposed to waiting for it to come to fruition and having to deal with it then. And make no mistake, the powers that be see Bobby Bones as the next big thing, and to many radio listeners, he is. At the same time, I think some of his baggage, including this Kacey Musgraves thing, is probably causing a lot of suits to second guess their plans with him.
March 7, 2014 @ 10:40 am
As those suits continue to add him to their market…
March 7, 2014 @ 10:42 am
And that’s why they continue to lose money. A $309 million quarterly loss doesn’t lie, twice what Clear Channel lost the quarter a year before. But go ahead, keep beating your head against the wall and hope it falls.
March 5, 2014 @ 6:13 am
Bobby Boner is not ‘The Voice’ of country music. Maybe he’s one of the voices of Nashville corporate pop, but he sure as hell doesn’t represent the real keepers of the genre such as Dale Watson, Jamey Johnson, or even George Strait.
March 5, 2014 @ 6:27 am
Clicking the ‘Ignore’ button on this enormous douche.
March 5, 2014 @ 7:46 am
The other morning, the new Kacey Musgraves song, “Keep It To Yourself” was playing on the radio, so I left it on. At the end of the song, I realized it was the Bobby Bones show when he started talking. He was very complimentary of the song and Kacey, and I knew right then something was up, having read about the feud on here.
This guy is the absolute worst. Somehow he got permission to interview George Strait (who is very picky about interviews) before a show this year, and it was cringe-worthy.
March 7, 2014 @ 10:42 am
I am surprised to see someone admit that the guy you all love to hate got to interview King George. George makes his own decisions and George decided to let BB interview him… I guess the guy isn’t a nobody. There is nothing Bones could do that would make you guys like him so really you will find any reason to bash him. You just turned a George Strait interview into something negative because BB did the interview. That’s just sad.
March 5, 2014 @ 11:34 am
Does this remind anybody else of Macklemore’s public apology to Kendrick Lamar, which provoked a wave of criticism from the music blogosphere? An apology should come from a place of humility. But Bobby’s motive here, like many suspected of Macklemore, seems to be to keep the spotlight focused on him.
“See, you guys? I’m being mature and honest and heartfelt. And I’m in MADISON, WISCONSIN, you guys! I’m just a regular dude, facing up to his mistakes and laying bare my soul by unzipping my sick jacket and displaying my casually disheveled hair. And cancer is just the worst, you guys! Sorry, Kacey!”
March 5, 2014 @ 1:35 pm
I was thinking about this the last couple of days, and I thought of another thing that gets my goat about this whole thing: You let Zac Brown say one thing about one song from an artist that he otherwise (ostensibly) admires, and the bro-country hacks go apeshit about it. But let some self-righteous asshole deejay badger and belittle Kacey Musgraves and no one in country music bats an eye. Does that seem off to anyone else?
March 5, 2014 @ 4:05 pm
One cheap radio stunt after another. He’s “building his brand” using the same old schoolyard bully tactics. Kacey comes off as mature and interested in just making her music. It is sad and scary that he is positioned as the “face” of CMT country. Just another reason to listen to Eddie Stubbs on WSM where I can hear Kacey, Sarah Jarosz and Connie Smith.