AUSTIN, TX (CelebrityAccess) — Outlaw country music legend Willie Nelson says he’s not at all concerned by the fact that some of his fans have threatened to boycott him after he agreed to headline a rally for Democratic Senate hopeful Beto O’Rourke later this month.
In an interview with on the ABC morning show The View, Nelson said, “I don’t care. You know, they’re entitled to their opinions and I’m entitled to mine.”
Nelson went on to note that he has a long history of supporting Democratic candidates and he was unsure of why his support for O’Rourke has enflamed a segment of his audience.
As Rolling Stone noted, the headlining slot for Nelson would mark the first time he has performed on behalf of a political candidate, though not for a politician. Nelson famously played at the White House for U.S. President Jimmy Carter and later in an interview with GQ copped to smoking a little weed on the roof of the White House.
O’Rourke is running in a dead heat against Republican incumbent Senator Ted Cruz. Nelson is scheduled to headline a concert and rally set for Sept. 29th at Auditorium Shores. The event’s lineup also features Leon Bridges, Joe Ely, Carrie Rodriguez, Tameca Jones, and Nelson’s sons Lukas and Micah Nelson.
In a press release announcing the event, Nelson said: “My wife Annie and I have met and spoken with Beto and we share his concern for the direction things are headed. Beto embodies what is special about Texas, an energy and an integrity that is completely genuine.”
