Brad Paisley Says Politics Are Off Limits at the 2018 CMA Awards
Some of the best moments from recent CMA Awards found hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood taking digs at politicians or the American political system. They targeted both sides of the aisle with jokes and parody songs over 10 years. They're not likely to target either side during year 11.
Paisley says politics are off limits for him. "I'm not gonna touch that. I just don't find politics funny anymore," he says. "There was a time when it was. It's just not funny to me anymore. To me, I wanna do fun stuff. I don't wanna talk down, I don't wanna talk up — it's like, 'Let's have fun.' And let's talk about things that everybody can agree are funny."
"Obamacare By Morning" and "Before He Tweets" are the two best-remembered political parody songs that created a stir for the co-hosts on social media. Paisley says that kind of humor would do well in 2018, but he doesn't want the heat. "I want everyone to feel welcome and inclusive and we're not out to offend anyone," the 2010 CMA Entertainer of the Year says.
Paisley, who is slated to perform in addition to co-host at Wednesday night's (Nov. 14) CMA Awards, didn't elaborate on what he and Underwood will discuss. Typically they write much of the monologue in the days leading up to the show, so they touch on the most newsworthy items. He did say that he's not afraid to get political in other ways, in a manner similar to how he's done before.
"I try to find the thing we can all agree on, whatever that is," he says. "What's the common ground? What's the thing you can sit with anyone no matter where they stand and say, 'Don't we agree on this?'"
"I don't know that it's always music's job to do (be political). It can be, but I also think that sometimes it's music's job to get you away from some of these things."
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