Martina McBride Brings Awareness to #SaladGate With ‘Tomato’ T-Shirts
This one's for the girls ... er, the tomatoes. Martina McBride isn't just speaking out about the "country's female singers are like tomatoes" controversy (aka #SaladGate); she's acting on it, benefiting her Team Martina charity with witty T-shirts.
McBride recently posted a photo on Instagram of herself and her husband John wearing T-shirts that proudly support women in country music. The singer is wearing a red shirt with "tomato" printed in white lettering, while her husband sports a white shirt with "tomato lover" in red script. The T-shirts are for sale to the public through Saturday (June 6) here.
McBride is clear about her efforts, noting that she wants only to bring awareness to the controversy and is not trying to inflame anyone -- and 100 percent of the proceeds from sales of both T-shirts are benefiting her global charity group, Team Martina, which empowers fans and supporters across the globe to join McBride in making the world a better place through volunteerism and the healing power of music.
McBride's efforts with Team Martina have done a world of good over the years, from raising $40,000 for a cancer research grant at Vanderbilt University to helping provide a new playground and green space for kids living in urban Atlanta. The team and the singer also recently helped orphaned children in Latin America, and now, thanks to the T-shirt sales, Team Martina will continue to press forward in making this world a happier place.
The women of country music have been extremely vocal over the past couple weeks, ever since music industry consultant Keith Hill's comments came to light, but McBride was the first artist to really speak out about #SaladGate.
“When I posted on Facebook, really I didn’t set out to be the spokesperson for this,” she admits. “I read the statement and thought, ‘I wonder if people know this is what goes on behind that scenes, that this is the formula for programming country radio,’ and clearly, they did not know it and passionately disagree with it.”
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