Tate McRae Gets Real About Being Overly ‘Sexualized’

Tate McRae is getting vulnerable about the downsides of fame.

In a new interview, the 22-year-old opened up about the vitriol she’s faced over her fashion choices.

According to McRae, she spent the last year finding her voice and boldly stepping into new opportunities (and clothes) that made her feel her best.

Despite that, the Canadian hitmaker, known for smash hits like “Greedy” and “Sports Car,” still faced pushback from critics determined to tear her apart.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, McRae didn’t hold back when discussing the flood of negative comments she received about her provocative attire and her song “Purple Lace Bra.” In the single, McRae sings explicit lyrics about her relationship with a man, and in the live performance, she’s wearing, well, a purple lace bra.

McRae told RS that part of her reasoning for releasing the track was the empowering messages she received; however, after baring it all, the feedback seemed to sour. “People always want girls to put themselves out there. And the second they do, they get ripped apart for it,” she said.

Doubling down, McRae was unfiltered about the negative feedback she’s received about her looks, questioning whether she’d face the same comments if she were a man.

“I was feeling sexual and confident for the first time in my life, and then I would release something and feel sexualized, and feel like all of my work and effort was taken away from me,” she said before saying the “scrutiny” toward women is getting “worse and worse.”

She added, “It’s just wild that people pay so much attention to us girls for little things that a man wouldn’t be scrutinized for… And they’re not thinking about the great things that are happening onstage.”

McRae went on to explain that when she or her female peers are on stage, some audience members aren’t focused on their vocals or spectacular performances. “They’re thinking about what shorts they’re wearing, or what their makeup looks like, and that’s annoying,” she confessed.

Even then, McRae has still experienced many positive moments while performing, such as seeing “the girls in the front row screaming [the lyrics.” She added, “It gives me full-body chills because I’m just like, ‘Oh, we’re all experiencing this. This is not just me. It’s everybody who feels this frustrating feeling that it’s gone on for so f-cking long.'”

Shifting gears, the “2 hands” singer opened up about her evolving career, which included recording a track for the “F1” movie and collaborating with country star Morgan Wallen on the summer track “What I Want.”

McRae, who grew up listening to country and has been deeply inspired by her brother’s love of the genre, said she joined forces with Wallen because she really wanted to cross genres.

However, McRae faced intense backlash from fans, with one writing, “Tate McRae collabing with Morgan Wallen … I’m actually so disappointed in her [right now].”

McRae admitted she wasn’t expecting such a passionate response to the song because, for her, it was simply about the music. “It was just about the song for me. I didn’t realize how much a song would be connected to all the other factors, and it really shocked me,” she said.