The rich liberal cast of ABC’s Good Morning America was possibly feeling targeted Wednesday as they broke the network news silence on the runaway, smash-hit song Rich Men North of Richmond with the direct intent to smear singer/songwriter Oliver Anthony with accusations of being a racist. The classic tactic of the rich men north of Richmond.
Of course, co-anchor George Stephanopoulos (a poster child for the rich men north of Richmond) had a problem with the song’s message condemning the people he worked for when he was in Washington D.C. Throughout the show, he teases for the segment kicked dirt on the song and suggested there was a serious problem with it:
STEPHANOPOULOS: From factory worker to chart-topping musician.
ANTHONY: I've been selling my soul working all day
STEPHANOPOULOS: How the voice behind Rich Men North of Richmond became an overnight sensation and why not everyone is singing along.
(…)
STEPHANOPOULOS: Coming up on GMA Morning Menu, the factory worker behind the surprise number one hit Rich Men North of Richmond. We’re going to tell you why there’s division over the song's message.
The report was delivered by correspondent Chris Connelly, who noted that “Fans hear an authentic, from-the-heart hit that speaking on behalf of an overlooked America,” but added that “Critics hear racially-tinged dog whistles.”
Anyone who has actually listened to the song and the lyrics knows that race was not brought up once or alluded to.
So what were they putting forward as evidence? Anthony’s lines about the abuses of the welfare system:
CONNELLY: Rich Men North of Richmond is a no-frills attack on the powerful and controversially on far less powerful targets as well.
ANTHONY: And the obese milking welfare. God, if you’re 5'3" and you’re 300 pounds, taxes ought not to pay for your bags of Fudge Rounds. Young men are putting themselves –
Ironically, ABC flashed their own racism because their assertion was that welfare was synonymous with minorities. And if the song truly used "racially-tinged dog whistles" as they claimed, then why have so many black reaction YouTubers fallen in love with the song? It also doesn't square with what Anthony told Fox News earlier int he week that America is a "melting pot" and that's a good thing.
Connelly steered clear of the lyrics that directly called out ABC’s friends and allies in Washington, like President Biden and his terrible economy, which made up a vast majority of the song:
These rich men north of Richmond/Lord knows they all just wanna have total control/Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do/And they don't think you know, but I know that you do/'Cause your dollar ain't shit and it's taxed to no end/'Cause of rich men north of Richmond
It’s also worth noting that Connelly cut away from the lyrics, after the Fudge Round line, which says, “Young men are puttin' themselves six feet in the ground/'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin' them down.”
And that’s not to mention ABC’s silence on the lines alluding to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, a friend of Stephanopoulos’s old boss, former President Bill Clinton.
Connelly did admit that “Anthony describes his own political beliefs as dead center.” But as they were getting ready to move on to a different topic, co-host Lara Spencer could be seen shaking her head at the song with a displeased look on her face.
ABC’s baseless and desperate smears of Oliver Anthony and Rich Men North of Richmond were made possible because of lucrative sponsorships from Ashley Homestore and Ford. Their contact information is linked.
The transcript is below, click "expand" to read:
ABC’s Good Morning America
August 23, 2023
8:01:43 a.m. EasternGEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: From factory worker to chart-topping musician.
OLIVER ANTHONY: I've been selling my soul working all-day
STEPHANOPOULOS: How the voice behind Rich Men North of Richmond became an overnight sensation and why not everyone is singing along.
(…)
9:05:57 a.m. Eastern
STEPHANOPOULOS: Coming up on GMA Morning Menu, the factory worker behind the surprise number one hit Rich Men North of Richmond. We’re going to tell you why there’s division over the song's message.
(…)
9:11:12 a.m. Eastern
STEPHANOPOULOS: And we’re back with our GMA cover story. It’s a look at the man behind the number one song Rich Men North of Richmond. Chris Connelly has the story of how Oliver Anthony went from an unknown songwriter and factory worker to top of the charts. Good morning, Chris.
CHRIS CONNELLY: Hey, good morning, George! It is the year’s least-likely number-one single, a complete unknown on solo guitar with an us-versus-them message that has been generating a wide range of reaction and making him and his song a lot less unknown.
[Cuts to video]
ANTHONY: I've been selling my soul working all day.
CONNELLY: Out of nowhere to the top of the charts, Rich Men North of Richmond by Oliver Anthony Music is pointing fingers.
ATHONY: These rich men north of Richmond, lord knows just want to have total control.
CONNELLY: Rich Men North of Richmond is a no-frills attack on the powerful and controversially on far less powerful targets as well.
ANTHONY: And the obese milking welfare. God, if you’re 5'3" and you’re 300 pounds, taxes ought not to pay for your bags of Fudge Rounds. Young men are putting themselves –
CONNELLY: It’s been boosted by big-ups from podcasters like Joe Rogan; getting 17 million streams.
MELINDA NEWMAN (Billboard executive editor, West Coast - & Nashville) Rich Men North of Richmond showed up on YouTube on a channel called RadioWV. It has now become number one on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, it's the most popular song in the country
ANTHONY: And they don’t think you know. But I know that you do.
CONNELLY: Fans hear an authentic, from-the-heart hit that speaking on behalf of an overlooked America. Critics hear racially-tinged dog whistles. Anthony describes his own political beliefs as dead center.
ANTHONY: It seems like both sides serve the same master. And that master is not someone of any good to the people of this country.
CONNELLY: The 30-ish Anthony born Christopher Anthony Lunceford sharing his story while describing his bodywork on Facebook: "I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression. These songs have connected with millions of people because they’re being sung by someone feeling the words in the very moment they were being sung."
ANTHONY: I wish I could just wake up and it not be true but it is. Oh it is.
[Cuts back to live]
CONNELLY: On Facebook, Anthony saying of his song’s success, “I still don’t quite believe what has went on since we uploaded that.” He’s not the only one. And it might be just the beginning. Guys?
STEPHANOPOULOS: All right. Chris, thanks very much. Let's go to Lindsay.
[Co-host Lara Spencer shaking her head]
