Martina McBride Drops Out of SeaWorld Gig, Cites ‘Issues’
First, it was Willie Nelson. Then it was Trisha Yearwood. Now, Martina McBride is dropping out of her planned appearance at SeaWorld following a rash of bad publicity surrounding the marine mammal theme park as a result of the documentary 'Blackfish.'
The doc chronicles life in captivity for Tilikum, the whale that killed its trainer a few years ago. The film, which found its way to theaters and aired on CNN, suggests that a captive life contributed to the majestic beast's aggression. 'Blackfish' also alleges that SeaWorld covers up telling events, which furthers the problem.
Nelson was the first country singer to back out of a show, saying that what the park does "is not OK," while Yearwood also chose to cancel because of the increasing bad press. Now, McBride is bailing.
The 'I'm Gonna Love You Through It' singer posted news of the cancelation on her Facebook page in diplomatic fashion, writing:
I've decided that given all the issues that have been aired recently, the time isn’t right for me to play at Seaworld. I have cancelled my scheduled performance at the Bands, Blues & BBQ event in March 2014.
Artists were being booked on weekends from February 1 through March 9, 2014 for SeaWorld's Bands, Brews (not Blues) and BBQ series. Nelson, Yearwood and McBride were due to appear as part of that series.
Scotty McCreery and Justin Moore were also booked for SeaWorld shows next year, but the schedule has since been taken down. It's unclear if those artists followed suit and backed out, or if SeaWorld is just reworking their plans. Instead of a schedule, the park's website offers a generic explanation of what the program is without listing acts booked to perform.