Olivia Salamone
Updated Mon, October 19, 2026 at 8:42 AM PDT
0
Kacey Musgraves Claps Back at Kristi Noem’s Shade With Dog-Shooting Reference
Kristi Noem is being roasted online after sharing a photo with her new hunting dog, with critics bringing up her controversial admission that she shot and killed her previous pet, Cricket, RadarOnline. com can reveal.
Kristi Noem is being roasted online after sharing a photo with her new hunting dog, with critics bringing up her controversial admission that she shot and killed her previous pet, Cricket, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The former Homeland Security secretary’s post quickly turned into a flood of comments from users questioning whether her latest four-legged companion was safe.
Kristi Noem’s Hunting Photo Sparks Backlash
Noem took to X on October 17 to share a picture with her dog, Foster, as she marked the beginning of pheasant hunting season.
“Pheasant hunting is part of who we are, and it’s a tradition worth passing on to our kids and grandkids,” she wrote.
However, the post attracted attention for reasons beyond her enthusiasm for the sport.
Users recalled the backlash that followed her account of killing Cricket in her 2024 memoir, No Going Back.
Critics Beg Kristi Noem to Spare Foster
Tommy Vietor, a former Obama National Security Council staffer, weighed in on the photo, writing, “This poor dog is staring at the camera like he’s on death row.”
Other commenters quickly joined in, saying, “SOMEONE SAVE THAT DOG,” and “Please don’t kill him.”
“The worst possible thing you could post would be a dog and a gun, lady. Come on,” another user wrote.
“Dog looks worried,” a third person commented, while someone else claimed, “The dog looks terrified you’re gonna Cricket him.”
Another critic offered a more direct assessment of Noem, writing, “You are seriously insane!”
Kristi Noem’s Confession About Cricket
The reaction stems from Noem’s own account of what happened to Cricket, a 14-month-old dog she described taking on a pheasant hunt in her memoir.
According to the former governor, Cricket killed a neighbor’s chickens and attempted to bite her when she tried to restrain the animal.
Noem wrote that she took the dog to a gravel pit and shot her dead, describing Cricket as “untrainable” and dangerous.
Animal lovers were outraged as Noem was being considered as a potential running mate for Donald Trump in 2024.
Kristi Noem Defended Her Actions
Noem defended her decision at the time, arguing that difficult choices sometimes had to be made on a farm and that she wanted to be honest about her experiences rather than present a polished political image.
“I can understand why some people are upset about a 20-year-old story of Cricket,” she wrote on X in April 2024.
Noem later added, “The fact is, South Dakota law states that dogs who attack and kill livestock can be put down. Given that Cricket had shown aggressive behavior toward people by biting them, I decided what I did.”
Show comments
0
Kacey Musgraves uses brutal puppy takedown to shred Kristi Noem
Carsen Holaday
Tue, October 13, 2026 at 10:36 AM PDT
0
Noem revealed in her 2024 memoir that she shot her 14-month-old dog to death
Kristi Noem might think twice the next time she tries to dig at Kacey Musgraves.
The Grammy-winning country star has faced a slew of recent backlash from MAGA warriors since James Talarico — the Democrat running for U.S. Senate in Texas — posted about attending her show Saturday in Dallas.
Noem, 54, shared a screenshot of Talarico’s post on X and said that she preferred “Choosin’ Texas” country singer Ella Langley to Musgraves, as well as Talarico’s opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, to him.
“I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,” the former Department of Homeland Security secretary said in the Monday post. “And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico.”
However, Noem’s snarky message backfired when Musgraves, who has a noted record of calling out Donald Trump and members of his administration, responded with a dig at her puppy-killing past. “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it,” the 38-year-old singer wrote.
Although Noem has faced a number of controversies in recent years — from rumors about an alleged affair with her staffer Corey Lewandowski to her ex-husband’s crossdressing being exposed — Musgraves was referring to the infamous scandal that put her on the map.
The one-time South Dakota governor became famous after she confessed in an anecdote in her 2024 memoir that she shot her 14-month-old dog, Cricket, to death after deeming the puppy “untrainable.”
“I hated that dog,” she wrote in No Going Back, adding that the animal was “worthless as a hunting dog” and “dangerous to anyone she came in contact with.”
She bragged at the time that it was a story that showed her as a “responsible parent, dog owner, and neighbor.” However, it led to her being widely mocked on the political spectrum.
Despite a book published earlier this year claiming that Trump viewed Noem’s penchant for murdering animals as an advantage, Noem was fired from her role as DHS secretary in March of this year after a series of more controversies. She now works as the U.S. special envoy to the Shield of the Americas under his administration.
Noem did not respond after Musgraves’s post, although fans took to the comments to cheer on the “Space Cowboy” singer. The Independent has contacted Noem for comment.
After the exchange, Talarico posted another picture of himself with Musgraves and captioned it, “Don’t mess with Texas.”
Langley, for her part, did not appear to appreciate Noem’s remarks either, as the singer untagged herself from the original post.
Show comments
0
Kacey Musgraves Fires Back at Kristi Noem With Brutal Dog-Shooting Reference After Country Music Diss
Marija Mrakovic
Tue, October 13, 2026 at 10:15 AM PDT
0
Kacey Musgraves answered Kristi Noem’s country-music criticism with a reference to the politician’s own account of killing her dog. Their exchange unfolded on X on … Read More
Kacey Musgraves answered Kristi Noem’s country-music criticism with a reference to the politician’s own account of killing her dog. Their exchange unfolded on X on Oct. 12.
“I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it,” Musgraves wrote, quoting Noem’s post, according to Us Weekly.
Noem had shared a screenshot of a post from James Talarico featuring the Texas Senate candidate with Musgraves. The two had met during the singer’s concert weekend in Dallas.
Musgraves was on the Texas stretch of her Middle of Nowhere tour, named after the album she released in May. The home-state run included performances in Houston, Austin and Dallas.
Noem Paired Her Ella Langley Preference With an Endorsement of Ken Paxton
“I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,” Noem wrote. “And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico.”
Her wording borrowed from the title of Langley’s hit “Choosin’ Texas.” Paxton is Talarico’s Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race; Talarico is the Democratic nominee.
Rolling Stone reported that Langley appeared to have untagged herself from Noem’s post. The publication did not report a statement from Langley explaining the change or expressing a preference between the candidates.
Noem Described Killing Cricket in Her 2024 Memoir
In No Going Back, Noem wrote about shooting Cricket, a 14-month-old wirehaired pointer she had been training as a hunting dog. The account became public when excerpts appeared before the book’s release.
Noem said Cricket disrupted a hunt and later attacked another family’s chickens. She described the dog as dangerous and defended her decision after the disclosure drew criticism, Reuters reported in April 2024.
“We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm,” Noem wrote at the time. PETA criticized her for killing Cricket rather than pursuing training or finding another home for the dog.
Talarico Attended the First of Musgraves’ Two Dallas Shows
Talarico was at the American Airlines Center on Oct. 10, the first night of Musgraves’ weekend engagement there. He posted photographs afterward, including one showing the singer taking a selfie with him.
“Thank you for having me last night, Kacey Musgraves!” he wrote. The appearance came as he resumed public campaigning after an absence his campaign attributed to the flu, according to D Magazine.
The following night, Musgraves welcomed the Mariachi Brothers for a set that included “Tú solo tú,” “Lo Hice a mi Manera” and her own “Uncertain, TX.” The McAllen siblings had previously opened her three New Braunfels shows after their family’s release from immigration detention, the magazine reported.
Days earlier, at her Oct. 8 Austin concert, Musgraves acknowledged that audience members might disagree with some of her views. She said the causes she supported and the positions she took reflected convictions she held personally, Chron reported.
“At the end of the day, I just want to bring people together,” she told the audience.
Show comments
0
Kacey Musgraves Claps Back at Kristi Noem’s Shade With Dog-Shooting Reference
Tufayel Ahmed
Tue, October 13, 2026 at 12:54 AM PDT
284
Kacey Musgraves just hit back at Kristi Noem’s shady X post with one of her own. The country singer, 38, reacted to Noem saying she preferred “Choosin’ Texas” singer Ella Langley to Musgraves after Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico shared pictures of him attending Musgraves’ concert. “I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,”
Kacey Musgraves just hit back at Kristi Noem’s shady X post with one of her own.
The country singer, 38, reacted to Noem saying she preferred “Choosin’ Texas” singer Ella Langley to Musgraves after Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico shared pictures of him attending Musgraves’ concert.
“I’ll take @ellalangleymsic over Kacey Musgraves any day,” Noem, 54, wrote via X on Monday, October 12.
“And if I’m choosin’ Texas, I’ll take Ken Paxton over James Talarico,” she added, referring to Talarico’s opponent in the Texas Senate race, Republican state attorney general Ken Paxton.
Diane Warren Takes Shots at ‘Puppy Killer Barbie’ Kristi Noem After Homeland Security Firing
Musgraves later reposted Noem’s post and clapped back, “I don’t think you have a dog in this fight but if you did you would have shot it.”
Musgraves was referencing Noem’s admission in 2024 that she once shot and killed her 14-month-old wirehaired pointer dog, Cricket, because the animal was a “less than worthless” and “untrainable” hunting dog.
“It was not a pleasant job, but it had to be done. And after it was over, I realized another unpleasant job needed to be done,” Noem wrote in her memoir, No Going Back: The Truth on What’s Wrong With Politics and How We Move America Forward, admitting she also killed a goat on her farm in the same manner.
Noem defended her decision in an April 2024 X post, writing, “We love animals, but tough decisions like this happen all the time on a farm. Sadly, we just had to put down 3 horses a few weeks ago that had been in our family for 25 years.”
Kacey Musgraves’ Most Memorable Style Moments Over the Years: From Feathers to Sequins
At the time, Noem’s admission was ill-received, including by the hosts of The View.
“Give it back, bitch!” Whoopi Goldberg opined on the ABC daytime talk show back in April 2024. “Give it back! How you gonna kill it?”
“She better be careful because if a cat gets a hold of her, cats don’t play that,” Goldberg told said. “Cats are like, ‘I’m sorry, are you pointing something at me? Girl, I’ll rearrange everything on your body. You better get away from me.’ Cats don’t play!”
“This is a puppy,” added Alyssa Farah Griffin. “If your dog is acting wrongly, it is because you are incompetent at training that dog. When I grew up, we had big dogs and we had chickens. A dog did once get a chicken. Whose fault was it? Mine, for not having the dog somewhere where he couldn’t get the chickens.”
“If you have a really challenging dog, there are countless organizations to re-home them to somebody who loves the dog enough,” she continued. “I want justice for Cricket. This is terrible.”
Sunny Hostin simply said, “The sign of a sociopath is someone that kills animals.”
Show comments
Kacey Musgraves Claps Back at Kristi Noem’s Shade With Dog-Shooting Reference
