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Canadian-born pop star Tate McRae is receiving a cold reception in her home country after promoting Team USA in an NBC ad for this year’s Winter Olympics.
On Tuesday, the singer, whose album “So Close to What” debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 chart last year, shared an ad promoting NBC’s broadcast of Friday’s opening ceremony at the Milan Curtain Games.
The clip shows McRae in ski gear asking a snowy owl for directions to the “amazing” ceremony so he can meet Team USA.
“Next, it’s the weekend with America’s best skate to gold and Lindsey Vonn’s epic comeback. Then we return to the United States for the big game: Super Bowl 60,” McRae continued, teasing NBC’s coverage of major sporting events.
The ad is soundtracked by McRae’s single, “Nobody’s Girl,” and features highlights from Team USA.
The 22-year-old, who described herself as a New York City resident last year, was born in Calgary, Alberta and is notably a fan of the city’s NHL team, the Calgary Flames. In 2016, she made a splash on the American version of “So You Think You Can Dance” and finished third on the show.
Praise from McRae’s US team didn’t sit well with several Canadians, including Virgin Radio Toronto hosts Daryn Jones and Deepa Prashad, the latter of whom asked if the pop star had “sold out.”
“Don’t you have an American who could appear in that ad?” Prashad asked his co-host.
“The Olympics were in Calgary, your hometown, Tate McRae. No national pride?” -Jones asked.
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Others criticized McRae on social media, including a user on Bluesky who described her as an “Alberta traitor” and another on X who criticized the singer for showing love to American athletes.
“Calgary girl Tate is here getting paid a shilling for Team USA. Disappointing, fuck you girl,” the X user wrote.
News has contacted McRae’s representatives for comment.
The Winter Olympics competitions began on Wednesday. The opening ceremony will take place on Friday at the San Siro stadium in Milan.