Photo Credit – Jenna Houchin
Barack Obama has once again shared his annual summer playlist, featuring a wide variety of songs handpicked by the former president, but as Billboard reports, it doesn’t seem that Boygenius member Lucy Dacus is happy about the inclusion of her band’s song ‘Not Strong Enough.’
In a tweet quoting Obama’s initial post regarding the playlist, Dacus’ response was blunt yet crystal clear, writing simply: “war criminal :(.”
While she has not brought forward any additional context to the tweet, fans have taken it to be a criticism of the former president’s controversial usage of drone warfare in Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, and more throughout his presidency, with drone strikes killing between 64 and 116 civilians over the course of his two terms.
In the time Obama has kept up this playlisting tradition, this isn’t the first instance of a featured artist responding unfavorably. In 2022, his inclusion of “American Teenager” by Ethel Cain sparked criticism for its awkward irony, most notably from Cain herself, who said in a tweet: “Did not have a former president including my anti-war, anti-patriotism fake pop song on his end of year list on my 2022 bingo.”
Other songs that were included on this year’s playlist were old favorites such as “Blue Train” by John Coltrane and “The World Is Yours” by Nas, as well as newer songs such as “Fast Car” by Luke Combs and “Princess Diana” by Ice Spice & Nicki Minaj.
Dacus and the rest of Boygenius have been very outspoken recently regarding their politics, performing in drag last month as protest against Tennessee’s governor Bill Lee, who had tried and failed to implement a state law placing limitations on drag shows. Their set at Coachella this April also took a stance against the current wave of transphobia in American politics, with the words “F*** Ron Desantis” receiving cheers from the crowd.
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