Dixie Chicks “Shut Up & Sing” At Film Festival Gala
Posted September 12, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
They come from Texas.
They had a new movie debuting at the Toronto International Film Festival.
And oh yeah, they don’t much like U.S. President George W. Bush.
That’s really all you need to know about The Dixie Chicks, who walked the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall Tuesday for the gala premiere of their documentary “Shut Up and Sing.”
It chronicles the reaction to lead singer Natalie Maines’ now infamous 2003 comment about her home state.
“Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas,” she told the crowd at a concert during their sold out world tour.
What happened next is the stuff of legend, scandal – and now a major motion picture.
Why did her political comments create such a firestorm in her home state and country?
“I think because we were in the country genre,” Maines replies. “We weren’t supposed to feel the way that we felt politically, and I also think that we were targeted and we were a political play by some far right-wing organizations.
“We were an easy target, and they used us to try and shut other people up.”
The comments were followed by political attacks and death threats showcased in the film, which has been highly anticipated during its three years in the making. Toronto audiences got the first look at the documentary musical on Tuesday night.
But neither Bush nor his people were among those in the crowd.
