With the Winter Olympics about to commence in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo tomorrow (February 6) and continue until February 22, Tate McRae finds herself in the middle of a controversy.
The Canadian popstar featured in a promotional ad for Team USA’s Winter Olympics campaign, which has drawn the ire of fans back home.
Tate McRae Featuring in Team USA Winter Olympics Promo Draws Mixed Reactions
McRae recently featured in a promotional campaign video for Team USA ahead of the opening ceremony of the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, which was broadcast on NBC. In the ad, McRae is wearing an all-red skiing gear and asks a digitally rendered snow owl for directions.
When the owl asks who she is, the popstar replies, ‘Tate McRae,’ to which the owl asks, ‘Who?’
McRae further reveals her intention in the promotional clip as she comments,
“I’m trying to get to Milan for an amazing opening ceremony and meet Team U.S.A. Then it’s the weekend with America’s best skating for gold, and Lindsay Vonn’s epic comeback. Then come back to the States for the big game, Super Bowl 60.”
This advertisement has elicited mixed reactions in Canada, given that the USA and Canada are archrivals in ice hockey. Canada has won the most Olympic ice hockey gold medals (14).
Former hockey player turned podcast host Paul Bissonette accused McRae of not being loyal to the Canadian cause, writing: “TREESON.”
“I better be finding out she has some sort of American background too, bc this actually pisses me off fr lol,” commented Jackie Redmond, an NHL network broadcaster.
Talk show host Gabriel Morency referred to a similar controversy surrounding Dua Lipa as he commented,
“#NBC’s #Olympic strategy is super weird. They made Dua Lipa the face of TV promos for games. She’s from England. Now they using Tate McCrae who is Canadian Strange, they didn’t give an American artist this platform People WERE MAD about Lipa, and now people in Canada mad at Tate.”
On the other hand, some Americans defended McRae, maintaining that she did nothing wrong by starring in the promotional ad. American composer Kelly Moran called out the critics as she wrote: “It’s not Tate McRae’s fault that the USA has more gold medal contenders than Canada! Leave her alone!!!”
Meanwhile, McRae remains unfazed by the backlash she received for featuring in the ad. The pop star uploaded an Instagram story featuring a younger version of herself waving the Canadian flag, reassuring viewers that she won’t quit Team Canada at the Winter Olympics.
The ice hockey tournament for the Winter Olympics will commence tonight, with the women’s preliminaries taking place at Arena Milano and Fiera Milano. Canada will look to defend the women’s team title, while Team USA, which clinched silver, will aim to overcome the Canadian challenge and win its third overall women’s hockey title.
