The News

 Country music star Carrie Underwood is slated to perform “America the Beautiful” at President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to a copy of the program obtained by CNN and confirmed by a spokesperson for the inaugural committee.

“I love our country and am honored to have been asked to sing at the Inauguration and to be a small part of this historic event,” Underwood said in a statement to CNN. “I am humbled to answer the call at a time when we must all come together in the spirit of unity and looking to the future.”

The presidential oath of office will be administered by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts with Justice Brett Kavanaugh expected to administer the oath of office to Vice President-elect JD Vance.

Trump’s inauguration as the 47th president of the United States will take place on January 20 at the US Capitol.

Underwood is a big get for Trump’s inauguration, considering Hollywood’s Trump blackout over the course of his political career.

In his first term and throughout the past three elections, Trump has struggled to garner support from major Hollywood stars. At the Republican National Convention last year, the two biggest stars onstage with Trump were musician Kid Rock and retired WWE wrestler Hulk Hogan – a far cry from a superstar at the height of their career, like Underwood.

The Grammy-winning artist is as high-profile as you can get in country music, not only with numerous platinum hits, but also with public-facing, mainstream business associations. Underwood is the face of Sunday Night Football and is set to make her debut this March as a judge on ABC’s “American Idol” – the singing competition show that catapulted her to fame when she won in 2005.

While many NFL fans will likely applaud Underwood for singing at the inauguration, any time a celebrity aligns themselves with Trump, they run the risk of alienating left-leaning fans and Hollywood allies.

Underwood has kept her politics under wraps over the course of her career. In her statement, she did not mention Trump by name and kept her focus on unifying the country – still, Underwood’s decision to publicly align with Trump is a big statement for any star, particularly one as private as the singer.

Historically, Hollywood has always been closely associated with the Democratic Party, but country stars have always been an outlier, leaning more conservative. In recent years, as new singers join the genre, country music has gotten to be more progressive. This past election cycle, country stars like Mickey Guyton and Maren Morris stood with Vice President Kamala Harris.

 A Philadelphia Eagles fan, identified as Ryan Caldwell, is under investigation by his employer, BCT Partners, after a viral video showed him verbally berating a female Green Bay Packers fan during the teams' Wildcard Game on January 12. 

The altercation, which occurred at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, sparked widespread outrage online and has led to calls for action from Caldwell’s employer.

The incident was captured by Alexander Basara, a Packers content creator, who was at the game with his fiancée, also a Packers fan. Basara began filming after a verbal confrontation broke out between his fiancée and an older Eagles fan. The fan, later identified as Caldwell, began insulting Basara’s fiancée with derogatory language. Basara, who had not responded to the insults initially, started recording when the abuse escalated.

In the video, Caldwell can be heard repeatedly using a vile slur directed at Basara’s fiancée. When Basara intervened, asking Caldwell to stop calling his fiancée a "dumb c*nt," Caldwell responded by doubling down on the insult, calling her "an ugly, dumb c*nt." Despite the verbal abuse, Basara remained calm, replying sarcastically, “Cool, cool,” while continuing to film the encounter.

The confrontation escalated further when Caldwell challenged Basara, saying, “You gonna do anything? Shut the f*ck up. Yup. Turn around. Watch the game.” Despite Caldwell’s attempts to provoke a physical confrontation, Basara chose not to engage, instead focusing on capturing the encounter on video.

Basara posted the footage to social media with the message: “What it’s like being an opposing fan in Philly. Unprovoked. Was the 3rd time he said this to my fiancée.” He also expressed his frustration on X (formerly Twitter), writing, “Unprovoked, uncalled for. Packers twitter, help me out and find this guy…. this is not okay. I hate that my fiancé had this happen simply cheering for her team.” The video quickly gained traction, amassing over 20 million views and drawing widespread condemnation of Caldwell’s behavior.

Within hours of the video going viral, social media users launched an effort to identify Caldwell. Through online research, it was revealed that Caldwell worked as a business analyst at BCT Partners, a management consulting firm based in East Brunswick, New Jersey. Caldwell has an extensive background in hospitality, having held managerial roles at Plamondon Hospitality Partners, Hersha Hospitality, Marriott International, and Cohenterprises. His now-deleted LinkedIn profile described him as a “highly motivated Project Manager” with a proven track record in managing IT projects and client service. Caldwell is based in Purcellville, Virginia.

Following the identification, social media users directed their attention to BCT Partners, calling for the company to take action against Caldwell. In response, BCT Partners issued a statement acknowledging the video and the behavior of their employee. The company expressed its strong disapproval of Caldwell’s actions, stating that his behavior was “completely unacceptable” and in direct conflict with the organization’s values.

“We have already begun a full investigation as an internal personnel matter to determine what actions will be taken,” the statement read. “We sincerely apologize to everyone affected by this behavior and remain committed to fostering a culture of respe