Kacey Musgraves Slams Kristi Noem Over Dog Shooting Incident

Country music star Kacey Musgraves has publicly criticized South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, referencing the governor's controversial past confession of shooting her dog. The exchange began after a Democratic politician, James Talarico, shared a post on X about attending Musgraves's concert.

Noem, who was formerly the Secretary of Homeland Security, re-shared Talarico's post and added her own commentary, stating, "I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day. And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico." This comment was a jab at both Musgraves and Talarico, while endorsing conservative senate hopeful Ken Paxton.

Musgraves swiftly responded to Noem's comment with a pointed remark: "I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it." This retort directly alluded to Noem's 2024 admission in her book, "No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong with Politics and How We Move America Forward," that she shot her 14-month-old puppy named Cricket.

Noem had previously defended the decision to shoot Cricket, stating in her book that the dog was "untrainable." She recounted an incident where Cricket allegedly attacked and killed a family's chickens and bit Noem herself. The governor explained that she felt she had to make a difficult decision, citing farm life and South Dakota law regarding livestock-attacking dogs. She also mentioned having to put down a goat that exhibited aggressive behavior.

Noem further elaborated on the incident, writing that she took Cricket on a hunting trip to try and calm her, but the puppy chased pheasants. On the drive home, Cricket reportedly escaped the truck, attacked chickens belonging to another family, and bit Noem. Noem stated she apologized, paid the family for the chickens, and ultimately decided to shoot the dog at a gravel pit.

In response to the backlash the book confession generated, Noem stated on social media, "We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm." She added, "Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years." Noem asserted that she always works to make the best decisions, even when they are painful.

Meanwhile, Ella Langley, the singer Noem endorsed, has also faced scrutiny. Old hunting photos of Langley resurfaced online, drawing criticism from some fans who described them as "awful" and "disgusting."