Cassadee Pope on Brittany Aldean backlash and the awkward reunion The Voice tried to stage with her estranged father
Cassadee Pope says she has no regrets about publicly responding to comments made by Brittany Aldean that Pope and others considered transphobic. Speaking on the Hold My Hair podcast on August 7, Pope explained that when she sees something she believes is harmful to a community she cares about, she feels compelled to speak up. She acknowledged that sometimes the best approach is to amplify the voices of people directly affected, but added that there are moments when she can’t help but step in herself.
Cassadee didn’t care about the backlash
Pope recalled receiving negative messages and insults after defending that community. She told fellow country artist Maren Morris that she “doesn’t give a f—” about the backlash, and she was clear about who she wants in her life and at her shows. “People would come to my page and call me things because I’m sticking up for a community that I care about,” she said. “I don’t want them at my shows anyway. I don’t want them around me.”
Those remarks come as Pope continues to shift the direction of her music. Although she first rose to prominence and spent years recording in the country genre after winning season 3 of The Voice, she has returned to her pop-punk roots in recent years, focusing on writing and performing in a style that feels authentic to her current creative identity.
Beyond the public disputes, Pope praised how The Voice treated its artists behind the scenes. She described production staff, PAs, and other crew as supportive people who offered pep talks and encouragement during the pressure of competing on a televised singing competition. She contrasted The Voice’s environment with the more sensational reality-TV reputation some other programs have, saying The Voice “doesn’t want to make a spectacle out of everybody.”
The Voice tried to set up a reunion with Pope’s estranged father for the cameras
Despite that supportive environment, Pope revealed producers did attempt to create an emotional television moment by reconnecting her with her estranged father. She said that on an especially vulnerable, sleep-deprived day, she opened up about her relationship with her dad—something she later wished she had not done on camera. At the time she competed in 2012, she had not spoken to her father for about a year, and she did not go into the reasons publicly.
Pope described the producers’ effort to contact him and the way they framed it to her as somewhat awkward. “They were like, ‘We found your father,’ and I was like, ‘I didn’t lose my father. I have his number,'” she recalled. Producers hoped to stage an on-camera reunion, but Pope declined to participate. Even so, she said she believed their intentions were to help her in the competition after seeing how openly she had shared her story and how the audience reacted.
Pope is preparing to release her most personal song yet and is asking fans to contribute
On the creative front, Cassadee Pope has been active with new music. After releasing the single and video “Almost There,” she is now preparing to release a third single in this new era of her career—what she calls the most personal song she’s written to date. In communications with her mailing list, Pope asked fans to take part in the project by sending anonymous, handwritten notes that reflect their own experiences related to loved ones and struggles with substance abuse.
She invited fans to write as little as one sentence or as much as a paragraph, photograph the note, and email it to [email protected]. Pope promised anonymity for contributors and described the planned project as something she believes will be “very moving and cathartic for all of us.” Her call for participation reflects a desire to make the song and its accompanying presentation feel communal and honest, drawing on real audience experiences to deepen the song’s emotional impact.
Throughout her career, Pope has balanced public life and private struggles, transitioning musically while also standing up for causes important to her. Whether addressing backlash, reflecting on her time on The Voice, or involving fans in her songwriting process, she has remained direct about her values and the creative path she wants to follow.