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Canadian-born singer Tate McRae sparks fury after backing Team USA in Olympics ad: ‘Traitor’
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Canadian-born pop singer Tate McRae appeared in an NBC ad for the Milan Cortina Olympics, in which she expressed support for Team USA. McRae was born in Calgary, Alberta, in 2003, and attended high school in the country. However, she has made her music career in the U.S.
In the ad, McRae is seen speaking to an owl, asking how to get to Milan. She expresses excitement over watching American athletes, including Lindsey Vonn, and closed it out by hyping up America’s Game – the Super Bowl.
“I’m trying to get to Milan for an amazing opening ceremony, and meet Team USA. Gonna spend the week with some of America’s best, skating for gold, and Lindsey Vonn’s epic comeback. And back to the states for the big game, Super Bowl LX,” she said in the commercial.
McRae’s support for the U.S. in the ad prompted criticisms from Canadians across social media.
One user referenced President Donald Trump’s previous suggestion that Canada become America’s 51st state.
“Every year I feel more valid in my dislike of her. Girl why are you advertising for the USA team after that country threatened to annex your actual home country of Canada? Traitor s—,” the user wrote.
One user wrote, “Not the Canadian born and raised girl, promoting Team USA and wearing all red, given the state of the USA and everything Trump has said about Canada… I guess a paycheque is a paycheque? This is so embarrassing.”
Tate McRae at the 2024 iHeartRadio Music Awards held at the Dolby Theatre on April 1, 2024, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)
Another user wrote, “Tate McRae, who is from Calgary Alberta, is doing Olympic promos for Team USA… more like ‘Trait McRator’ AMIRITE!”
Some Americans and Canadians have stood up for the ascendant pop star in the face of the backlash,
“Quote tweets are full of woke Canadians attacking her as a traitor for promoting Team USA. Tate McRae is the model immigrant. This is what assimilation looks like. She’s part of our melting pot. Take your anti-American xenophobia elsewhere,” one user wrote on a collage of the criticisms against McRae.
Another user wrote, “Selling out for usa is the most albertan thing she could do to be fair.”
Tensions between the U.S. and Canada are historically higher than at the previous Winter Olympics amid Trump’s proposition to annex the country and the imposition of tariffs on Canadian goods coming into the U.S. last year.
This year’s Winter Games could see fans of the two countries booing each other’s national anthems, as well as potential fights in hockey matches, as was seen during the NHL’s 4 Nations Face Off last January.
US OLYMPIAN SPEAKS OUT AFTER TEAM CANADA WITHDRAWAL PREVENTS HER FROM QUALIFYING FOR MILAN-CORTINA
Multiple athletes competing for the upcoming U.S. women’s ice hockey Olympic team have said they are willing to engage in physical combat with Canadian players if it comes to it.
U.S. women’s hockey star Caroline Harvey said she is prepared to fight and even hear Canadians boo “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the Games.
“It’s expected, especially playing Canada,” Harvey told Fox News Digital of potential anthem booing at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee media summit in October. “They don’t like us very much. So, it’s more motivating than anything and, personally, it fuels the fire and makes us want to, you know, beat them more than ever.
“I don’t like them either. They’re a respectable competitor. They’re so good and always give us such a hard game. It’s so back-and-forth. But when we get in the heat of the moment, we just always fight and don’t like them. … It does get personal at times.”
Veteran teammate Kendall Coyne Schofield, the mother of a toddler and self-described “lover, not a fighter,” told Fox News Digital in October she would fight if the situation demands it.
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“If I have to, I have to,” she said. “And I wouldn’t say I’m not a fighter in the sense that I’ve fought for many things in life. But I would just say in general. Fighting is not a strength of my game. But if I’m out there, and I have to, you know, help my teammates out, I will. But you won’t find me starting the fight, I can tell you that.”
Meanwhile, in the skeleton competition, many Americans are outraged over the absence of five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender in Milan Cortina, after Team Canada was found to have manipulated an Olympic qualifier last month that prevented Uhlaender from being able to earn enough points to make this year’s Winter Games.
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Now the NBA playoffs are in the swing of things.
Let’s check out the odds for the second round of the playoffs, at DraftKings Sportsbook as of May 11.
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EAST SECOND ROUND
No. 7 PHILADELPHIA vs. No. 3 NEW YORK
NYK wins 4-0
No. 4 CLEVELAND (+200) vs. No. 1 DETROIT (-250)
DET leads 2-1
GAME 4 — DET @ CLE (May 11)
Spread: Cavs -3.5
Moneyline: Pistons +140, Cavs -166
O/U: 213.5
What to know: This has been a weird series. Each team has yet to lose on its home court, and the games haven’t seen much domination on either side. Take Game 3 for example: Cleveland held Detroit to 18 points in the second quarter and took a 16-point lead into halftime. Then, in the third quarter, the Pistons held the Cavs to 19 points, cutting that deficit to two heading into the fourth. But Cleveland put together its highest-scoring quarter of the game in the final frame to emerge with a seven-point win.
WEST SECOND ROUND
No. 4 LOS ANGELES (+7000) vs. No. 1 OKLAHOMA CITY (-20000)
OKC leads 3-0
GAME 4 — OKC @ LAL (May 11)
Spread: Thunder -11.5
Moneyline: Thunder -520, Lakers +390
O/U: 214.5
What to know: It appears the Lakers just don’t have the firepower to compete with the Thunder. OKC has won the first three games of the series by a combined 59 points (19.7 points per game), including a 23-point win in Game 3 in Los Angeles. And consider this: SGA is averaging just 21 points per game on 46% shooting. The Thunder are stacked, and sit at 7-0 in the postseason so far.
No. 6 MINNESOTA (+320) vs. No. 3 SAN ANTONIO (-390)
Tied 2-2
GAME 5 — MIN @ SAS (May 12)
Spread: Spurs -10.5
Moneyline: Spurs -410, Wolves +320
O/U: 218.5
What to know: We’ve got a series on our hands. Now tied at 2-2, both of these teams have won once at home and once on the other team’s home floor, with the Wolves winning a crucial Game 4 in Minnesota. But that wasn’t the story of the night. Victor Wembanyama was assessed a Flagrant 2 in the first half of Game 4, and was ejected from the game, after hitting Naz Reid with a vicious elbow to the head. He will play Game 5, but how chippy might things be after that?
Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy is in stable condition after being shot at a concert early Sunday morning in Mississippi, the university’s football program said in a statement Monday morning.
Hardy underwent surgery after sustaining a gunshot wound, according to the team, which added that a timeline for his return to football activities is unknown at this time.
“Ahmad is deeply loved by his teammates, coaches, friends, family and fans,” the team’s statement said. “We will continue to stand beside him and his family through this difficult time, offering our love, prayers, strength and support.”
According to ESPN, Hardy is alert and moving around Monday morning.
Details from the shooting are unclear.
A native of Oma, Miss., Hardy spent his freshman season at Louisiana-Monroe, where he rushed 257 times for 1,351 yards and 13 touchdowns.
He transferred to Missouri last season and rushed 256 times for 1,649 yards (second among FBS players) and 16 touchdowns. In addition, Hardy earned first-team All-America honors from the Associated Press and was one of three finalists for the Doak Walker Award for college football’s top running back.
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The Indiana Pacers’ risky move backfired after the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery saw them lose their top pick altogether in a disastrous turn of events on Sunday afternoon.
Heading into the lottery, the Pacers, who went 19-63 just one season after reaching the NBA Finals out of the Eastern Conference, had a 52.1% chance of having a top-four pick.
However, when they didn’t see their team chosen in the first four picks – Indiana also had a 14% chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick – it was time to panic.
Indiana Pacers president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard speaks during a press conference to announce center Miles Turner’s contract extension at Gainsbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Jan. 30, 2023. (Marc Lebryk/USA TODAY Sports)
The reason? The Pacers included their first-round pick in a trade with the Los Angeles Clippers for Ivica Zubac, but they only made it a top-four protected pick. That means, if the Pacers were chosen in the lottery as a top-four selection, they would be able to keep it.
But the Pacers were chosen as the No. 5 pick, and the Clippers now own the selection in next month’s draft.
NBA LOTTERY CHAOS: WASHINGTON WIZARDS STRIKE GOLD, PACERS PAY FOR TANKING GAMBLE NIGHTMARE
As a result, Pacers team president of basketball operations Kevin Pritchard took full responsibility for the move, apologizing on social media.
“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” he wrote on X. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck. But please remember – this team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year. We have always been resilient.”
Signage is displayed during the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery at Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois, on May 10, 2026. (Melissa Tamez/NBAE/Getty Images)
The Pacers were viewed as a team that were actively tanking despite the NBA’s attempt to crack down on such a season, with the lottery being one way of that. And it clearly worked this time around.
Pritchard was trying to be transparent and honest with the Pacers fan base, but people were quick to jump in the comments to make their thoughts, and gripes, known.
“You lose Myles Turner and add Zubac,” one X user began. “You lose [Benedict] Mathurin and the number 5 pick with absolutely nothing in return. This is why fans are upset, for a center who not even a top 5 center in the NBA. Who trades their future away for Ivan [sic] Zubac???”
Another X user called this a “generational draft,” and couldn’t fathom the Pacers won’t be picking from a deep class.
“If I were a Pacers fan and my team traded away a top 5 pick for Ivica Zubac in the middle of a tanking season I would be beyond devastated,” a fellow X user wrote.
Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton shoots around on the court before an NBA game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Indianapolis on April 7, 2026. (Doug McSchooler/AP)
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The Pacers were without their All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton all season long after he suffered an Achilles injury during the NBA Finals against the Oklahoma City Thunder. But Indiana still has key members of that team returning next season, including Pascal Siakam, Andrew Nembhard, and Aaron Nesmith.
However, this 2026 draft class is quite the spectacle, with many believing it to be deep considering the talent of BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, UNC’s Caleb Wilson, and Duke’s Cam Boozer, among others.
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