When it comes to celebrities, whether they be of the movie and television variety or sports variety, their respective fandoms sometimes establish themselves as forces to be reckoned with in their own right, with Taylor Swift’s “Swifties” and Beyonce’s “Beyhive” coming to mind as examples of “Yas, kween!” fan groups you want to avoid on social media if you want to keep your sanity intact.
But though fandoms can be loyal to the core, they can also turn on you in a New York minute, which is what former professional race car driver Danica Patrick got hit with after she posted several photos on Instagram including one of her standing next to her sister, Brooke Patrick, at the Turning Point USA “AmericaFest” event that was held in Phoenix in mid-December.
Here are some of those photos:
Let’s check in on Danica Patrick living a very normal life… pic.twitter.com/hezUcvFCaj
— Stage Banter Guy Fieri (@TweeterReprise) December 21, 2023
In response, some fans erupted in outrage. Here are two comments that sum up what her critics were saying:
“How can you say you love your country when you support the guy who incited an insurrection or the party that denies it happened?” wrote one.
“I followed her for years and was a big supporter but had to dump her,” another opined. “It just shows her spiritual journey is a farce as you can’t want to be filled with healing positive energy and be part of a group centered on hate and racism at the same time.”
“Very disappointed in her life choices,” they went on to say.
Patrick, of course, also had her defenders, but it was Patrick herself who had the best response, pointing out in an Instagram story so many words how for years she had kept her political opinions to herself, presumably out of concern for backlash. She also noted that it was unfair that when celebrities attended Democrat functions it was just another day of the week but that when one attended a conservative event it was OutrageAPalooza:
“I am not a liberal. I am somewhere between Republican and independent. I think our country should be run by someone that knows business and has integrity. I believe we should be able to speak freely. I don’t think our food and skies should be poisoned. I think it’s bullsh*t that Democrats can be proud but a Republican can’t in society. As a result, there is so much propaganda that penetrates mainstream media. I love this country and I have lived other places. I believe when people of different opinions speak face to face we realize we are more similar than different. I don’t believe everything anyone says,” Patrick wrote on her Instagram story Friday afternoon.
“I have been very torn over the years if I should give a s*it about politics or just live the life I want as an example. I have been doing the latter,” Patrick also wrote. “The reaction today is definitely interesting… since all I said was, I love this country.”
A quick look at Patrick’s Instagram page confirms she can’t be put in any one political box, as she’s promoted podcasts with 2024 independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. among others, including guests whose area of expertise revolves around the speculation over whether aliens exist.
In any event, good on Patrick for not letting the haters get her down and also for not apologizing for who she is. Too many conservatives and conservative-leaning independents have done that in the past when the outrage mob has come for them, and it’s nice to see one who won’t for a change.
