Tate McRae has reiterated her Canadian patriotism after she copped backlash for appearing in an Olympics commercial championing Team USA.
In the promo clip, the pop star, who was born in Calgary, asks an animated owl for directions to Milan — where the 2026 Winter Olympics are taking place — so she can meet and cheer on the American team for the opening ceremony.
The ad features McRae’s song “Nobody’s Girl”, and was run by NBC, the US broadcaster of the Olympic Games, to promote their coverage of the opening ceremony.
The move prompted outrage from onlookers not only because of McRae’s homeland, but also in light of Canada’s increased tensions with the US under the Trump administration.
ICYMI, Donald Trump has spent much of his second presidency threatening to annex Canada and make it the US’ “51st state”. He also imposed sweeping tariffs on the neighbouring country and traded barbs with its former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Canadian TikToker and Adults star Jack Innanen was among those to call out McRae, describing her ad as “some treason shit” in a video shared on his Instagram Stories.
“That is a crazy time to go support the United States in place of Canada on an international stage, a country that directly threatens your own. Disappointed,” Innanen said.
That sentiment was echoed in the comments section of McRae’s Olympics ad. “The absolute ick every Canadian just felt,” one user wrote under the promo clip, while another added that “no amount of money could make me endorse the country that threatens mine.”
McRae responded to the backlash via an Instagram Story on Thursday, sharing a baby pic of herself holding a Canadian flag. “Y’all know I’m Canada down,” she wrote in the caption.
The singer has not commented on the controversy any further, but she’s not the first Canadian star to get behind the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, which kick off this weekend.
Actor Hudson Williams, who was born in Kelowna, last week joined his Heated Rivalry co-star Connor Storrie as a torchbearer for some pre opening ceremony festivities in Italy.
Fans reacted much more kindly to Williams’ Olympics foray than McRae’s, but these are Canadians we’re talking about, so even their backlash is relatively polite.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 Opening Ceremony will start at 6am AEDT Saturday, February 7 on Channel Nine, 9Now and Stan.
Lead images: Instagram
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