In an impassioned statement released on Twitter Monday afternoon (September 25), Meghan Linsey defended her controversial decision to take a knee directly following her performance of the National Anthem at Sunday's Tennessee Titans vs. vs. Seattle Seahawks game at Nissan Stadium.

"I will never normalize hate, whether that angers people or not," the singer explains. "I knew there would be some backlash from people who don't understand, but there has also been such an overwhelming amount of support from those who applauded and knelt with me, and I’m so grateful for that."


Her decision to kneel, she says, was in solidarity with NFL players — both the Titans and Seahawks remained in their respective locker rooms during the anthem. The widespread National Anthem protest came following President Trump's comments at a rally on Friday (Sept. 22), which many found divisive. The president remarked that the act of not standing during the anthem is disrespectful to the American flag, saying, "Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, say, ‘Get that son of a b—h off the field right now. Out, you’re fired!’”

Linsey is formerly of country duo Steel Magnolia and has since had a solo career since their split in 2014. She was runner-up on The Voice Season 8 in 2015.

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