Tate McRae has apologized for supporting Team USA—kind of
Whatever you say, Trait McRae
Yesterday, Calgary-born singer Tate McRae prompted a whole new shitstorm in Canada-US relations when her ad stumping for Team USA at the Milano Cortina Olympics went public. McRae—who manages to plug America’s Olympic efforts, the Super Bowl, American skier Lindsey Vonn and Italian owls in a 30-second clip—drew the ire of Canadians for her treasonous promotion.
Related: Canadian Tate McRae’s Team USA Olympics ad is treason
What in the name of true patriot love was she thinking? At least, that was the reaction from Canadian corners of social media, where posters called out McRae for the unforced error. And now, McRae herself has addressed the backlash, posting to Instagram a childhood snap where she’s holding a Canadian flag under the caption, “Y’all know I’m Canada down.” And that’s the end of it—case closed, drama over, no hard feelings, right? Right?
Of course, Canadians remain pissed. Can you blame us? It would be pretty outrageous for a homegrown celeb to publicly support our American rivals at any Olympics. But, this year, relations between the two countries hang by a thread—and by a thread, we mean by the whims of a megalomaniacal wannabe dictator who keeps blasting our economy and threatening to annex our country. Now more than ever, a Canadian cheering for the Americans is a slap in the face.
Related: Jon Hamm and Auston Matthews prove that Team USA is terrified of Team Canada
Of course, McRae knows this. Even if she was too busy conquering So You Think You Can Dance to study politics, and even if the only news she follows is Page Six, she still has a management and branding team who should be aware of political tensions. So we return to the question: What was she thinking? Probably just that a teeny tiny market like Canada isn’t worth her loyalty.
As for what NBC was thinking, Mark Paradis, a political scientist in Montreal, recently posted about McRae-gate: “I’ve seen many people criticizing Tate McRae for appearing in an NBC ad promoting Team USA. It’s a fair critique. But I think the bigger question is, ‘Why couldn’t NBC find any Americans to promote Team USA?'”
That is actually a very good question. It makes you wonder how many people said no before McRae got the offer.
Courtney Shea is a freelance journalist in Toronto. She started her career as an intern at Toronto Life and continues to contribute frequently to the publication, including her 2022 National Magazine Award–winning feature, “The Death Cheaters,” her regular Q&As and her recent investigation into whether Taylor Swift hung out at a Toronto dive bar (she did not). Courtney was a producer and writer on the 2022 documentary The Talented Mr. Rosenberg, based on her 2014 Toronto Life magazine feature “The Yorkville Swindler.”
