Oliver Anthony says debate around ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ is “really funny to watch”

Oliver Anthony, the country artist behind the viral release ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’, has said that it’s been “really funny to watch” the debate and controversy surrounding his song.

• READ MORE: Who is viral ‘Rich Men North Of Richmond’ singer Oliver Anthony and why is he controversial?

Anthony has experienced a month of viral fame after a video of him performing his song ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ went live on August 8. It has since reached Number One on the iTunes Country Charts and is currently on 50million YouTube views and counting.

It also made chart history by debuting at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, making Anthony the first artist to do so without any prior chart history.

But the song’s viral success hasn’t been without controversy. While some have interpreted it as a working class anthem, it’s been criticised by others for being “fatphobic”, while others labelled it a “right-wing anthem”.

Anthony – a former factory worker and farmer – recently came out to say that left-wingers “misunderstood my words”, while at the same time criticised Republicans for “weaponising” the meaning behind the lyrics.

The singer has now appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast to discuss the discourse around the suspected political leanings of the song.

“I’m the subject matter the last couple of weeks,” he said. “People are just trying to find out who’s this Oliver Anthony guy, and where does he work, and who did he vote for, and what’s his family like and yada yada. They want to build this image of whatever it is that the person behind the song represents, for better or for worse.”

He continued that it’s “really funny to watch on my end, because obviously, I know what’s true and what’s not.”

“There’s been hundreds of hours of people’s time wasted probably talking about all these little like things that don’t even exist. Somebody made them up, put them on the internet. So, I’m just letting it ride. I just think it’s great,” he continued. “At least the last couple of weeks, I think I’ve been able to entertain everyone and get everyone’s mind off all the all the other horrible stuff that’s going on in the world right now. Like, at least everybody can have a good laugh.”

The musician also opened up about his background, sharing that he’s 31 and has been “playing guitar and singing on and off since I was a kid”.

“My grandma was in a band years ago and, I was like five and I used to sit with my grandma and we’d watch The Dukes of Hazzard and watch Waylon Jennings pick that guitar – I had no idea who Waylon Jennings was, but I just fell in love with that,” he shared.

“I grew up listening to that ’70s country and she loved all the old stuff, like the ’50s and ’60s and even in the ’70s, even, you know, Janice [Joplin] and all that. She really introduced me a lot into music when I was a little kid. I just kind of held on to it, but never pursued it the way I should.”

Much of the controversy surrounding ‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ stemmed from the lyrics, in which he sings of “sellin’ my soul” for “bullshit pay”, but also makes reference to the “obese milkin’ welfare“, singing: “If you’re 5-foot-3 and you’re 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds.”

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson is among those who have praised the singer, who shared a message of support for Anthony in which he told him to “keep kicking ass”.

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