Overnight country music star Oliver Anthony has been accused online of faking his Southern accent in the wake of an interview he participated in.
The interview, which aired on Monday, featured Anthony talking to a reporter, with some people pointing out that his singing voice sounded different from his nonsinging voice. It comes approximately two weeks after the singer grew widely popular with the release of his song "Rich Men North of Richmond."
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"Where did Oliver Anthony’s accent go??" a social media user asked when sharing footage of Anthony's Fox News interview. "Also, why is he saying diversity is our strength?
Where did Oliver Anthony’s accent go??
— Isabella Riley Moody (@isabellarileyus) August 23, 2023
Also, why is he saying diversity is our strength?
pic.twitter.com/FK7m9Ofnqt
Promoted algorithm boosted "based" red beard hillbilly song guy was faking his accent and says diversity is our strength. pic.twitter.com/z1t39xBXHI
— Devon Stack (@Black_Pilled) August 22, 2023
So Oliver Anthony doesn’t have a Southern accent after all?
— Leah McElrath (@leahmcelrath) August 22, 2023
Told you the guy was a plant, lol pic.twitter.com/MjYDOattjZ
Some have defended the singer over the accusations, pointing to how some singers have an accent when they sing but do not have an accent when they are not singing. One user also shared a video that Anthony posted online shortly after "Rich Men North of Richmond" went viral, in which the singer spoke without an accent.
Unless I’m mistaken, he’s never had a southern accent nor has he tried to.
— Addison Smith (@AddisonSmithTV) August 24, 2023
He posted this right after he went viral. Sounds the exact same.
Plenty of people sound different when they sing vs when they talk (and vice versa btw. Lot of British singers lose their accent entirely) https://t.co/c7P4RRIAfa
Many famous country singer didn’t speak with the same accent they sang in. Obviously a lot here has never listened much to real country music.
— The Prepared Homestead (@ThePreparedHom1) August 24, 2023
The recent accusations have so far not slowed Anthony's popularity online, with "Rich Men North of Richmond" earning over 37 million views and over 1.5 million likes since its release on Aug. 8. The song features lyrics criticizing politicians and implies that the titular characters of the song are the politicians in Washington, D.C.
"These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just want to have total control / Wanna know what you think / Wanna know what you do / And they don't think you know, but I know that you do," the lyrics read. "Cause your dollar ain't s***, and it's taxed to no end / 'Cause of rich men north of Richmond."
The singer has also released a new song this week titled "I Want To Go Home." The song, which was released on Tuesday and currently has over 2.3 million views and over 229,000 likes on YouTube, has Anthony singing about the frustrations of the current state of the world and praying to God about how concerned he is.
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A recent report claims that the country singer is making north of $40,000 a day from "Rich Men North of Richmond" thanks to the song's massive popularity on platforms such as iTunes and Spotify. The song was downloaded more than 147,000 times on iTunes in just its first week, bringing in $102,000.
"Rich Men North of Richmond" is being streamed close to 2 million times per day, according to data collected by Chartmetric, the report noted.