The Shady Side Of Carrie Underwood

Carrie Underwood is one of the most beloved country stars in the game and has managed to stay relatively away from controversy ever since she shot to fame as the winner of Season 4 of "American Idol" in 2005. Fans have seen the superstar grow up from the young, optimistic small town girl in her early 20s to the strong, mom of two she is today.

"I don't really know what I thought was going to come of it," Underwood shared of the decision that rocketed her to fame during an October 2019 appearance on "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert." "It was just kind of like, I saw the auditions on the news happening in other towns so I thought, 'Why not?'" Trying out for the show put her on an airplane for the first time and, you know, launched her career into the stratosphere. "Worked out all right," she said. That it certainly did.

But while the star has managed to keep things pretty classy and mainly unproblematic over the years, it turns out even the "Before He Cheats" singer isn't immune to the odd shady moment. Or, you know, the odd shady rumor. Read on for all the details.

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley teamed up to co-host the CMA Awards year after year from 2008 until 2018, and there were times their quips ruffled feathers. In 2017, the duo took aim at the then-president when they mocked Donald Trump's infamous Twitter behavior with a parody of Underwood's hit "Before He Cheats." Transforming it into "Before He Tweets," the song was about Trump's often bizarre social media ramblings and included lines such as, "It's fun to watch it that's for sure, until little Rocket Man starts a nuclear war." It's safe to say social media had a lot to say about the bit.

And in 2012, Underwood and Paisley fired off a joke that didn't land for Taylor Swift. According to Entertainment Weekly, Paisley said, "The greatest trade of the year had to be the Kennedy family, who somehow traded Arnold Schwarzenegger for Taylor Swift." After Underwood informed her co-host that Swift was no longer dating Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s son, the duo kicked off a "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" reference. When Swift was asked about the joke and why the camera didn't cut to her in the audience, she told The New York Times Magazine, "They don't pan to you if you're not laughing." Yikes.

Renée Zellweger also ended up in the crosshairs of Paisley and Underwood's shady side. In 2014, the two took a swipe at her appearance (via Hollywood Life).

Carrie Underwood had some choice words about former boyfriend Tony Romo following their split in 2007. The star opened up about the athlete in an interview with Allure, where she said the former professional football player — who was her date to the 2007 ACM Awards — supposedly still tried to call her following their breakup. "The phone will ring and it'll be him, and I'll maybe not answer. We were both small town people doing very big things, and we relied on each other, dealing with fame," she told the publication. Underwood's remarks raised some eyebrows, as Romo was dating Jessica Simpson at the time.

Simpson hit back at Underwood's claims during an interview with "The Woody and Jim Show" shortly after. "Tony and I both laughed at that. Yeah, we got a chuckle out of it," Simpson shared, adding that Romo "definitely" didn't still call Underwood. "If Tony wanted to call her or be with her, he would," she said.

But that wasn't the only shady remark she made about Romo. Underwood also insinuated that the football star wasn't the best boyfriend when asked if her 2009 single "Cowboy Casanova" was about him. Lest anyone assume the title was a reference to the team Romo played on for 14 seasons, Underwood insisted that's not the case. "I would never immortalize a guy that did me wrong," Underwood told Esquire in 2009. "I would never give him that much credit." Burn!

Anaheim Duck fans have experienced the wrath of Carrie Underwood, too. The country music star was very much a passionate significant other and fan when her husband, Mike Fisher, played professional hockey, and before he retired from the sport in May 2018, she would openly trash opposing teams on social media. Like in May 2017, for example, when she poked fun at the Ducks' fanbase when Fisher and the rest of the Nashville Predators were in town for a game. 

Evidently not impressed with the number of people in the crowd, she tweeted, "Woah, what's with all the empty seats in Anaheim tonight?! Wouldn't happen in #Smashville that's for sure!!" 

The responses to Underwood's post included a lot of tweets about Friday evening traffic in Southern California as well as some playful zingers from Anaheim Ducks fans. "Well, yeah...that's because half of Preds games are full of the opposing fanbase," one tweeted. Another joked, "Kinda reminiscent of your shows, Carrie?" The Predators ended up winning the game, which was the first in the Western Conference Final series, in overtime

Don't call out Carrie Underwood on social media unless you're ready to get a little shade in response. Underwood has proven more than once that she's not afraid to go toe-to-toe with people online. In December 2018, Sports Illustrated's Jessica Smetana found that out for herself when she slammed Underwood's "Sunday Night Football" song "Game On."

"I love that NBC has been reading everyone's Collinsworth slide tweets because it means they've also been reading all the tweets about how much we hate the new Carrie Underwood song," Smetana tweeted. Unsurprisingly, Underwood was not a fan of that post. The country superstar quote-tweeted Smetana's message and wrote, "Hey, I know my music isn't for everyone, but I love what I do and I love being a part of @SNFonNBC! [red heart emoji]. I am one lucky lady! I also love women who build other women up...just saying... [thumbs up emoji]." Shots fired.

That's not the only time Underwood has had her own back on social media though, as she also gave us a peek at her sassy side in March 2020 when a troll criticized her fashion choice. The star shared two photos on Instagram that showed her on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," including one showing her rocking metallic open toed heels. According to Inquisitr, one Instagram user commented, "hideous heels," to which Underwood replied, "hideous comment." Touché.

Carrie Underwood didn't seem to be too lucky in love before she married Mike Fisher. In a 2012 interview with British magazine Now, the singer opened up about her past relationship with Chace Crawford and offered up her juicy explanation for why it didn't work out. She told gossip columnist Dan Wootton that she believes the "Gossip Girl" actor was in it for the attention.

"In my heart, I knew it wasn't right," Underwood said when asked what went wrong between them, adding, "You never really know why someone is with you. I feel like it was more of a publicity stunt." She noted that she was never asked to "pretend" she was with the star, but noted that they'd head out together "and the paparazzi would be there waiting for us. I was like 'How did that happen?' I didn't do it." But despite all the speculation, Underwood also shared that she didn't regret the high-profile relationship and noted that it just wasn't meant to be as she looked for her soulmate.

The star also got candid about what went wrong between her and "The Boys" actor in an April 2008 interview with Extra, where she revealed the unconventional way they parted ways. "It was completely mutual. We broke up over text so ... it's like 'peace out,'" she said. Peace out indeed.

Is there drama between Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift? The two made headlines for an alleged feud in 2013 when Us Weekly claimed that they weren't on good terms — so much so that they supposedly asked to be seated away from each other at the Grammy Awards that year. A source claimed they "hate each other" and that "Taylor feels Carrie is always rude to her, so she steers clear of her." However, it's worth noting a rep for the Grammys told the outlet that "no requests were received from either artist."

In a 2013 interview with Allure (via Radar Online), Underwood suggested she and the "Love Story" hitmaker didn't really have a relationship whatsoever. "I'm not close to her," she said. "We run into each other at events. We're never in the same place at the same time."

She also downplayed the reports of drama in a "CBS This Morning" interview with Gayle King that same year. "No, not that I know of at least," she replied when asked point-blank if there was a feud. "In every magazine, in pretty much every newspaper or on gossip TV shows, they can just get away with it by saying 'a source said' or 'an insider said,'" she continued. "I've read the most ridiculous things about myself when people do that." 

Carrie Underwood may have hit former "Gossip Girl" actor Leighton Meester with some tough love in 2010 — if reports are to be believed, that is. According to Us Weekly (via Rolling Stone), when the two crossed paths at the CMA Awards, they supposedly did not have the friendliest exchange.

In 2010, Meester was a presenter at the award show, and Underwood co-hosted with Brad Paisley. Meester was said to have been on edge at the event, as was she was trying to carve out a country music career for herself at the time and just starred in the movie "Country Strong" alongside Tim McGraw and Gwyneth Paltrow. Just before hitting the stage, an Us Weekly source claimed Underwood supposedly told Meester to "'Get out there and don't f**k up,'" which apparently "made Leighton more nervous." The insider went on, "Later, someone said to Carrie, 'That was mean,' and Carrie said, 'She'll get over it. Someone said that to me once and I got over it.'" How's that for some gossip? 

Another country feud? If the rumor mill is to be believed, Carrie Underwood may not see eye to eye with LeAnn Rimes. And it may or may not have something to do with Rimes' reaction to Underwood taking home Best Female Vocalist at the CMAs in 2006. In a since-deleted essay that went up on her website (via EW), Rimes wrote, "We all work very hard and have for many years so to see someone come in and win Female Vocalist that has been here for a VERY short time is a little disheartening."

In 2014, Star claimed tensions supposedly boiled over between the two when they both attended the taping of "CMA Country Christmas" in November. According to a source, Underwood found out that her dressing room was near Rimes' and supposedly "immediately had her people call the organizers to get her room switched." As for why, a source claimed that "Carrie can't stand LeAnn" and allegedly thinks the "How Do I Live?" singer is "desperate, unoriginal and a has-been." 

Despite the rumors, the two have been spotted together on at least two occasions where they looked pretty happy to be in each other's company. Underwood and Rimes happily posed for the camera together while attending Country to Country festival in London in March 2013 and also smiled for a photo while sitting in the audience at the 2007 CMT Awards. So, what's really going on between these two is anyone's guess.