Nothing sends social media into a full-blown tantrum quite like patriotism — especially when it’s American.
Canadian-born pop star Tate McRae has found herself at the center of a cross-border culture clash after appearing in a flashy NBC promo for the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, where she openly cheers on Team USA and America’s biggest sporting tradition, the Super Bowl.
McRae, born in Calgary, Alberta in 2003, may have grown up north of the border, but her career — and future — are undeniably American. She built her music stardom in the United States, lives and works largely in the U.S., and now, to the horror of Canada’s perpetually offended online class, isn’t pretending otherwise.
In the commercial, McRae chats with an owl while trying to figure out how to get to Milan. The ad is packed with patriotic imagery, including the American flag, and features McRae gushing over elite U.S. athletes and high-profile sporting events.
“I’m trying to get to Milan for an amazing opening ceremony and meet Team USA. Gonna spend the week with some of America’s best skating for gold and Lindsey Vonn’s epic comeback. And back to the states for the big game, Super Bowl LX,” she said in the commercial.
That was all it took.
Canadians on social media immediately erupted, accusing McRae of betrayal, opportunism, and — in true internet fashion — treason.
One critic invoked former President Donald Trump’s past tongue-in-cheek suggestion that Canada become America’s 51st state.
“Every year I feel more valid in my dislike of her. Girl why are you advertising for the USA team after that country threatened to annex your actual home country of Canada? Traitor s–t,” the user wrote.
Another piled on, writing, “Not the Canadian born and raised girl, promoting Team USA and wearing all red, given the state of the USA and everything Trump has said about Canada… I guess a paycheque is a paycheque? This is so embarrassing.”
And then came the attempted comedy: “Tate McRae, who is from Calgary Alberta, is doing Olympic promos for Team USA… more like ‘Trait McRator’ AMIRITE!”
But while the outrage mob screamed, others pushed back — and hard — calling out the bitterness and anti-American resentment behind the attacks.
“Quote tweets are full of woke Canadians attacking her as a traitor for promoting Team USA. Tate McRae is the model immigrant. This is what assimilation looks like. She’s part of our melting pot. Take your anti-American xenophobia elsewhere,” one user wrote alongside a collage of the backlash.
Another commenter dryly noted, “Selling out for USA is the most Albertan thing she could do to be fair.”
McRae herself refused to grovel. Instead, she responded with quiet confidence, posting a childhood photo of herself holding a Canadian flag and captioning it, “y’all know I’m Canada down.”
The uproar comes at a moment when tensions between the U.S. and Canada are higher than they were during the last Winter Olympics. Trump’s past annexation remarks, along with tariffs imposed on Canadian goods last year, have reignited nationalist sensitivities — particularly among Canada’s online activist class.
View this post on Instagram
Those tensions are expected to spill directly onto the ice in Milan Cortina.
At recent international hockey events, including the NHL’s 4 Nations Face Off last January, fans booed opposing national anthems and players clashed physically. That animosity is expected to intensify during the Winter Games, especially in women’s hockey.
U.S. players aren’t backing down.
US women’s hockey star Caroline Harvey said she is prepared to fight and even hear Canadians boo “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Games.
“It’s expected, especially playing Canada,” Harvey told Fox News Digital of potential anthem booing at the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee media summit in October. “They don’t like us very much. So, it’s more motivating than anything and, personally, it fuels the fire and makes us want to, you know, beat them more than ever.
“I don’t like them either. They’re a respectable competitor. They’re so good and always give us such a hard game. It’s so back-and-forth. But when we get in the heat of the moment, we just always fight and don’t like them. … It does get personal at times.”
Veteran teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield echoed that sentiment, even while insisting she isn’t looking for trouble.
“If I have to, I have to,” she said. “And I wouldn’t say I’m not a fighter in the sense that I’ve fought for many things in life. But I would just say in general. Fighting is not a strength of my game. But if I’m out there, and I have to, you know, help my teammates out, I will. But you won’t find me starting the fight, I can tell you that.”
Meanwhile, controversy isn’t limited to hockey. In skeleton racing, American fans are furious after five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender was left out of Milan Cortina following revelations that Team Canada manipulated an Olympic qualifier last month — a move that blocked Uhlaender from earning enough points to qualify.
McRae built her career in America. She performs for American fans. She benefits from American opportunity. And now she’s cheering for the country that made her a star — no apologies required.
If that offends Canada’s professional outrage industry, that’s not McRae’s problem. Her response was short and sweet. She’s no dummy.
TateMcRae/Instagram
gvuy