Brad Paisley Responds to ‘Accidental Racist’ Furor
Brad Paisley said that he “wouldn’t change a thing” about his new record Wheelhouse in a string of tweets in which he added, “This is a record meant to be FAR from easy listening. But fun. Like Life.”
The country star’s comments come after “Accidental Racist,” Paisley’s song featuring LL Cool J, raised more than a few eyebrows with its earnest, if questionable attempt to tackle the whole history of race relations in America.
Brad Paisley, LL Cool J’s ‘Accidental Racist’ Song Raises Eyebrows
“So, as you buy this album, I hope it triggers emotions,” Paisleywrote. “I hope you feel joy, heartache, triumph, surprise; you laugh, cry, nudge someone beside you . . . I hope this album rocks you, soothes you, raises questions, answers, evokes feelings, all the way through.”
Paisley’s coolheaded outlook on Wheelhouse (which comes out today) seems in step with his insistence that “Accidental Racist” was always an attempt to have an open dialogue about a complicated issue. “That is the kind of thing that I would like to see happen everywhere, a bond that comes from people being honest and exploring questions,” Paisley said in an interview with USA Today. “I’ll tell you, asking the questions feels good.”