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Canadian-born pop star Tate McRae has doubled down on his roots after fans were outraged on social media by his support of Team USA in a recent ad promoting the Milan Cortina Olympics and Super Bowl LX.
McRae, born in Calgary, Alberta, appeared to intensify the sporting rivalry between Canada and the United States when she appeared in a commercial for NBC. In the clip, shared on Instagram with her nine million followers, McRae expressed her excitement about meeting American athletes, including Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn.
Lindsey Vonn competes in the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup women’s downhill on the Prampero slope of Monte Lussari. The event took place in Tarvisio, Italy on January 17, 2026. (Mattia Ozbot/Getty Images)
“I’m trying to get to Milan for an amazing opening ceremony and meet the American team,” she said in the ad. “I’ll be spending the week with some of America’s best skaters for gold and Lindsey Vonn’s epic comeback. And back to America for the big game, Super Bowl LX,” she said in the ad.
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Amid growing political tensions between the two border nations – which made their way into the sports world during the 4 Nations showdown – McRae’s support for Team USA did not appear to sit well with Canadians, who called her a “traitor”, among others.
But McRae took to social media to address the backlash and perhaps reveal where her loyalties really lie.
McRae posted a childhood photo of herself holding the Canadian flag with a caption that read: “…y’all know I’m Canada down.”
Canadian-born singer Tate MCRAE sparks fury after supporting Team USA at Olympics
But not everyone on social media seemed to accept McRae’s response.
“Yeah, no. Her saying ‘Y’all’ says otherwise,” one person wrote on X.
Tate McRae performs onstage during the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Festival at T-Mobile Arena. The performance took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 19, 2025. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
“So why support Team USA? Sometimes it’s important to support your own country and not just go after money, especially in times like this,” added another.
“Damage control,” another response read.
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Negative reactions to McRae’s ad paved the way for an escalation of tensions between the United States and Canada.
Most recently, in skeleton competition, many Americans remain outraged by the absence of five-time Olympian Katie Uhlaender at Milan Cortina, after it was discovered that Team Canada had manipulated an Olympic qualifier last month, preventing Uhlaender from being able to earn enough points to compete in this year’s Winter Games.
Katie Uhlaender (United States) competes in the women’s skeleton event at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympic Winter Games at the Olympic Sliding Center in Pyeongchang, South Korea, February 17, 2018. (James Lang/USA TODAY Sports)
