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Less than a day after his appointment to the board of the charitable arm of the Country Music Association, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee has resigned his position with the CMA Foundation.
The move comes after prominent manager Jason Owen called Huckabee’s addition a “grossly offensive decision” in a letter to the CMA, according to The Tennessean. In addition to running a label in partnership with Sony, Owen’s Sandbox Entertainment works with Little Big Town, Faith Hill and Midland, among others.
Owen went on to say he’d be withdrawing his support for the CMA Foundation in light of Huckabee’s stance on LGBT issues. Owen and his husband Sam have a young son and are expecting twins.
“The CMA has opened their arms to [Huckabee], making him feel welcome and relevant,” Owen said in the letter, while he claims the politician has “made it clear my family is not welcome in his America.”
Whitney Pastorek, who manages Sugarland’s Kristian Bush, voiced her objections to Huckabee serving on the board as well.
Country music executive and longtime board member Joe Galante said Huckabee was chosen because his political knowledge could’ve helped the CMA Foundation.
So far, Huckabee hasn’t spoken out since stepping down. In addition to being a longtime country music fan, Huckabee records his talk show on Trinity Broadcasting Network near Nashville, and often features members of the country community on the program.
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