Musgraves Fires Back at Noem Over Dog Shooting Jab

Country music artist Kacey Musgraves, 38, has responded to a social media post from Kristi Noem, 54, that criticized Musgraves while expressing support for another singer. The exchange, which occurred on X, has drawn attention due to Musgraves' reference to Noem's previous admission about killing her dog.

The dispute began after James Talarico, a Democratic candidate for the Texas Senate, shared images of himself attending a Musgraves concert. In response, Noem posted on X on Monday, October 12, stating, "I'll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day," according to Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. She also wrote, "And if I'm choosin' Texas, I'll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico," referring to Talarico's opponent in the Texas Senate race, Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton, as reported by Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly.

Musgraves subsequently reposted Noem's message and replied, "I don't think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it," according to Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. This comment alludes to Noem's 2024 disclosure that she shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer dog, Cricket, because the animal was deemed a "less than worthless" and "untrainable" hunting dog.

In her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What's Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward, Noem wrote, "It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done." She also admitted to killing a goat on her farm in a similar manner.

Noem defended her actions in an April 2024 post on X, stating, "We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years." At the time, her admission drew criticism from various quarters, including the hosts of The View.

Whoopi Goldberg, a host on the ABC daytime talk show, said, "Give it back, bitch! Give it back! How you gonna kill it?" according to Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. She added, "She better be careful because if a cat gets a hold of her, cats don't play that. Cats are like, 'I'm sorry, are you pointing something at me? Girl, I'll rearrange everything on your body. You better get away from me.' Cats don't play!" as reported by Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly.

Alyssa Farah Griffin, another co-host, commented, "This is a puppy. If your dog is acting wrongly, it is because you are incompetent at training that dog. When I grew up, we had big dogs and we had chickens. A dog did once get a chicken. Whose fault was it? Mine, for not having the dog somewhere where he couldn't get the chickens," according to Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. She continued, "If you have a really challenging dog, there are countless organizations to re-home them to somebody who loves the dog enough. I want justice for Cricket. This is terrible," as reported by Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly.

Sunny Hostin, also a host on The View, stated, "The sign of a sociopath is someone that kills animals," according to Celebrity News: Latest Celeb News & Pictures - Us Weekly. The ongoing exchange highlights the intersection of celebrity, politics, and public opinion, with both Musgraves and Noem using their platforms to address the controversy.