Toby Keith’s ‘American Ride’ Still Upsets Fast Food Family Four Years Later

Toby Keith is certainly not one to keep his opinion to himself. In his 2009 hit 'American Ride,' the singer discussed different injustices in America, listing off a slew of problems from his point of view. But the song rubbed one family the wrong way and they're speaking out about their point of view.

So, who is the family speaking out? The clan of Stella Liebeck, the then-79-year-old woman who was burned by extremely hot McDonald's coffee back in 1992. According to many of the media reports, the women sued the franchise after needing extensive medical treatment due to her burns, and walked away with millions of dollars.

Keith's lyrics, cited the story, "Plasma gettin' bigger, Jesus gettin' smaller / Spill a cup of coffee, make a million dollars." However, according to the Liebeck family and lawyers, as well as court papers, Liebeck was sitting in the passenger seat in a parked car when the piping hot beverage spilled onto her, causing third-degree burns, extensive skin grafting, and a lengthy hospital stay. And, as far as millions of dollars, she received less than $600,000.

Although Liebeck has since passed away, the family talked about the fallacies the news media portrayed and their reservations about Keith's song lyrics, which spurred off of the unreliable news. “I like Toby Keith but he did the ‘American Ride,’” Liebeck’s daughter said, adding, “Do we have to keep living this over and over and over again?”

The woman passed away in 2004, but the family is still dealing with the negative attention she received, trying to right the wrongs that have been projected onto the story. Although Keith's lyrics probably can't be changed, at least the Liebecks can rest assured that their side of the story has been heard.