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Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has been mocked after praising country star Chris Stapleton’s performance in the Super Bowl for allegedly opposing waking up, unaware he was a Black Lives Matter supporter -movement is.
Ms Greene praised the singer’s performance while slamming the rest of the pre-game events – Sheryl Lee Ralph sang Lift Every Voice and Sing, often referred to as the black national anthem, and a team of all-female pilots performed a Navy flyby.
“Chris Stapleton just sang the most beautiful national anthem at the Super Bowl. But we could have done without the rest of the waking state,” she said tweeted after the singer performed The Star-Spangled Banner before the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night.
Ms Greene appeared unaware of Mr Stapleton’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement.
Following the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020, Mr Stapleton appeared on CBS This Morning and said, “Do I think black lives matter? Absolutely…I don’t know how you can think they don’t.”
“There has been a very broad awakening and it is time for me to listen. It’s time other people listened,” he said at the time. “The country I thought we lived in was a myth.”
Ms Greene was subsequently mocked for her lack of understanding, with Twitter users noting Mr Stapleton’s progressive views, and others questioning why Ms Greene seemed bothered by an all-female pilot team.
“Chris Stapleton fucking ‘woke up’ you screaming Harridan,” Dennis Perkins wrotewhich links to a country music source detailing Mr Stapleton’s support for the movement.
“MTG reveals here that when they say ‘woke up,’ it means they don’t want to see or hear about non-white culture,” said one Twitter user called.
“Please say what you mean: you could have done without the blacks,” another added.
“Like the first-ever all-female Navy transfer. You call that woke up??” one third called.
“.@mtgreene’s definition of awoke: A bunch of scary black people singing, dancing, playing soccer and sitting in Fox Sportcaster chairs…” Andy Ostroy wrote.
“Experience when racism never takes a day off. Neanderthals become Neanderthals. The #Wokeness this s***gibbon is referring to is the appearances of @thesherylralph and @babyface. How dare they appear all black and excellent, huh? This thing is a hateful gargoyle,” Yvette Nicole Brown called.
Joseph Adelian called“she means the black man and woman who sang right in front of him and the ASL performers who signed the three songs,” in response to Ms Greene’s tweet.
“You clearly know nothing about Chris Stapleton. 100% chance he hates you and is an ‘awakened’ supporter of Black Lives Matter,” according to one account owner called.
The Independent has reached out to Ms Greene’s office for comment.