Michael Ray Reacts to Fans ‘Assuming’ He Cast a Carly Pearce Lookalike in Music Video
When Michael Ray released the music video for his song "Get Her Back" in April — a dark, cinematic mini-movie about love that goes south, with a tragic twist — some viewers speculated that the singer could have been drawing inspiration from his real-life relationships.
Specifically, fans noted that actor Danielle Cell, who plays his love interest in the video, bears a striking resemblance to Ray's ex-wife Carly Pearce, whom he divorced in 2020.
But in a new interview with People, the singer suggests that the similarities between the two are nothing more than coincidence.
"Oh yeah. That's what they say," Ray says in response to fans drawing a comparison between Pearce and his on-screen ex.
"Danielle's a good friend of mine," he continues. "We called her because we knew that she would deliver that video in a way that we needed to. People are assuming stuff, but we weren't trying to push anything."
The visual similarity between Cell and Pearce wasn't the only thing that made some viewers wonder if Ray was thinking of his own marriage when he made the video. In one scene in the clip, Ray's ex hangs out with her friends and a small dog, while Pearce is a proud dog mom to Shih Tzus Johnny and June, who are featured prominently on her social media.
Another part of the "Get Her Back" video is a flashback to happier times, with Ray and Cell hanging out in bed together while wearing gold eye masks. In real life, Ray and Pearce once shared a snapshot of themselves wearing eye masks together in bed during the COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. Then there's the fact that the girl Cell plays in the video is a wine drinker: Pearce's love for wine is well-documented, and she even has a song called "Hide the Wine."
Still, Ray says that his primary focus in making the video was bringing to life a creative vision that will continue with two more upcoming music videos for songs off his Dive Bars & Broken Hearts EP, which arrives on Friday (June 23).
"We wanted it to have that movie feel, and also go back to Travis Tritt, Tracy Lawrence, those videos in the '90s," Ray says, referencing the kinds of cinematic music videos he grew up watching on CMT and MTV.
"... So I really wanted to drive people to the video and really [do] something creative and cool that made people seek out the video and see a visual side of the song," he adds.
