Country stars skewer Obamacare at CMAs
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood mocked Obamacare during their opening act as hosts of ABC's Country Music Awards on Wednesday.
“I started signing up last Thursday, and I’m almost done!” Underwood said before pulling out a laptop to help Paisley — who said he had "twerked" his back — sign up for a health plan under President Barack Obama's Affordable Care Act. When the website stalled, the pair launched into a duet set to “Amarillo by Morning," by George Strait, who won Entertainer of the Year at the 47th annual presentation.
"Obamacare by morning," they sang. "Why is this taking so long?"
"I'm gonna wind up with hemorrhoids if I sit here till dawn," Paisley crooned.
The audience at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena roared its approval.
It's not the first time awards shows have been used to make a political statement, though most are not usually as scripted.
During his acceptance speech at the 2003 Oscars, filmmaker Michael Moore blasted President George Bush over the U.S. invasion of Iraq. "We are against this war, Mr. Bush," Moore railed. "Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you."
Moore's outburst came 30 years after actor Marlon Brando boycotted the ceremony, sending an American Indian rights activist, dressed in traditional Apache clothing, onstage to refuse his award in protest of Hollywood's portrayal of Native Americans.
Last month at GQ's "Man of the Year" Awards, comedian Russell Brand was reportedly kicked out after telling the audience that Hugo Boss, the event's sponsor, "made uniforms for the Nazis."
Kanye West made perhaps the most pointed political statement in modern television history during a telethon to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Flanked by actor Mike Myers, West said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."
