Kacey Musgraves brutally hits back at Kristi Noem’s criticism

Kacey Musgraves has hit back at Kristi Noem, after the former Secretary of Homeland Security made a swipe at her online.

• READ MORE: Kacey Musgraves – ‘Middle Of Nowhere’ review: a country heroine’s journey back to her roots

The Republican politician serves as the United States Special Envoy for the Shield of the Americas, having served as Secretary of Homeland Security from 2025 until March 2026.

Taking to X/Twitter, she made a jab at country star Kacey Musgraves, pitting her against fellow singer Ella Langley. She shared the comments in response to a post made by Democrat James Talarico, showing him meeting the ‘I Remember Everything’ singer at one of her shows.

“I’ll take @ellalangleymusic over Kacey Muscraves any day,” Noem wrote, before also saying that she would also opt for Texas’ Conservative senate hopeful Ken Paxton over Talarico.

WATCH

Musgraves then hit back at the politician, and made a sly reference to how Noem infamously shot and killed a 14-month-old puppy after saying that it was unable to be trained (via The Guardian).

“I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you have shot it,” Musgraves wrote.

I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it. https://t.co/bI50bahJZu

— K A C E Y (@KaceyMusgraves) October 12, 2026

Musgraves is currently out on tour in support of her seventh studio album ‘Middle Of Nowhere’, which was released in May via Lost Highway Records, and recently paid tribute to the late, great Dolly Parton by playing a cover of  ‘Here You Come Again’ in Boston.

The cover came shortly after the country music icon passed away at the age of 80 following a brief battle with cancer. At the show, Musgraves also performed her ‘Golden Hour’ track ‘Rainbow’ for the first time that tour, and told the crowd that Parton was the inspiration behind the song.

Musgrave’s latest record featured collaborations with Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, Billy Strings and Gregory Alan Isakov, and was given a three-and-a-half-star review from NME – praised as one of the country star’s “most thematically cohesive records”.

“It isn’t flawless: a few tracks blur together in the middle stretch, and some lyrical moments fall flat. But the integrity and conviction behind the creative statement more than compensate,” it read.

The album was also included in NME’s rundown of the best albums of 2026 so far.

Since the record dropped, Musgraves has also launched a partnership with women’s wellness brand Medicine Mama and dropped her own signature lube, and also been confirmed for the Roskilde Festival‘s 2027 line-up.