Evangelist Franklin Graham said he's "disappointed" that country star Brad Paisley used his platform at the Country Music Awards to poke fun at President Donald Trump.
"I was disappointed that Brad Paisley would use his position as a host of the #CMAawards last week to ridicule President Donald J. Trump-especially while the president was representing our nation overseas," the CEO of Samaritan's Purse wrote in a Facebook post. "Doesn't Brad Paisley realize that millions of country music fans are supporters of President Trump and stand behind him? I'm sure they're disappointed too."
While hosting the 51st Annual Country Music Association Awards in Nashville Wednesday night, Paisley, along with fellow country star Carrie Underwood, ridiculed the president's tweeting habits.
The two ignored the "politics-free zone" "guidelines" given by the CMA and did a cover of Underwood's hit 2005 song "Before he Cheats," titled "Before He Tweets."
The parody included the lyrics: "Right now, he's probably in his PJs watching cable news, reaching for his cell phone/ In the middle of the night from the privacy of a gold-plated white toilet seat, he's writing Liddle Bob Corker, NFL and covfefe."
Paisley finished by singing: "It's fun to watch it, that's for sure, until little Rocket Man starts a war. Then maybe next time he'll think before he tweets."
Graham was not the only one displeased with the parody sketch; Trump supporters quickly took to Twitter to criticize the music show's political bent.
Prior to the award ceremony, the CMA association sent a memo to the press threatening to remove journalists who made the event political by asking questions relating to politics and guns, The Hill reports.
The guidelines stated: "In light of recent events, and out of respect for the artists directly or indirectly involved, please refrain from focusing your coverage of the CMA Awards Red Carpet and Backstage Media Center on the Las Vegas tragedy, gun rights, political affiliations or topics of the like."
However, the association later withdrew the guidelines following criticism from country music stars, including host Paisley, who tweeted: "I'm sure the CMA will do the right thing and rescind these ridiculous and unfair press guidelines."
Ahead of the show, Paisley and Underwood, who have hosted the CMA's for the past decade, said there were going to be "equal opportunity offenders" when it came to their content.
"It's not about any political party or any person...it's just about making fun of things that are funny," Paisley told the TV show Good Morning America.
