Shania Twain has apologised after making an "awkward" remark where she appeared to suggest she would have voted for Donald Trump if she could have.
The Canadian country pop star was speaking with the Guardian where she discussed several subjects including her divorce from long-time producer and collaborator Mutt Lange, her troubled childhood including being sexually and physically abused by her stepfather, and her recent album.
Towards the end of the interview she was quoted as saying she "would have voted for [Trump] because, even though he was offensive, he seemed honest".
"Do you want straight or polite? Not that you shouldn't be able to be both. If I were voting, I just don't want bulls**t. I would have voted for a feeling that it was transparent. And politics has a reputation of not being that, right?"
The comment was picked up on social media and her name began trending on Twitter, with many of her fans - particularly her LGBT+ fanbase - issuing fierce criticisms.
Shania Twain can’t have it both ways by pretending to support the LGBT community as a judge on @RuPaul’s Drag Race one week and then openly supporting the most anti-LGBT administration in modern history the next week.
— Kaivan Shroff (@KaivanShroff) April 22, 2018
‘That don’t impress me much’ at all.
Shania Twain supports T-Rump. I no longer support Shania Twain. Just hit delete on my playlist.
— Gbesst (@BessGeorgene) April 23, 2018
I'm not offended by Shania Twain saying she'd vote for Trump but rather for the reasons she offered: “I would have voted for him b/c even though he was offensive, he seemed honest" & she "doesnt want bull shit." White supremacy's a helluva drug. 52% of white women went for Trump.
— Wajahat Ali (@WajahatAli) April 23, 2018
"I would like to apologise to anybody I have offended," Twain tweeted after the backlash. "The question caught me off-guard. As a Canadian, I regret answering this unexpected question without giving my response more context.
"I was trying to explain, in a response to a question about the election, that my limited understanding was that the president talked to a portion of America like an accessible person they could relate to, as he was not a politician."
I would like to apologise to anybody I have offended in a recent interview with the Guardian relating to the American President. The question caught me off guard. As a Canadian, I regret answering this unexpected question without giving my response more context (1/4)
— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
I am passionately against discrimination of any kind and hope it’s clear from the choices I have made, and the people I stand with, that I do not hold any common moral beliefs with the current President (2/4)
— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
I was trying to explain, in response to a question about the election, that my limited understanding was that the President talked to a portion of America like an accessible person they could relate to, as he was NOT a politician (3/4)
— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
My answer was awkward, but certainly should not be taken as representative of my values nor does it mean I endorse him. I make music to bring people together. My path will always be one of inclusivity, as my history shows. (4/4)
— Shania Twain (@ShaniaTwain) April 22, 2018
She added: "My answer was awkward, but certainly should not be taken as a representative of my values nor does it mean I endorse him."