Miranda Lambert Confirms: 'I Threw Moonshine in His Face'
Sixteen years of bar-fight rumor ended on the New York Times Popcast ... and Lambert had no apologies, no regrets, and one very specific detail about what happened to Chad Kroeger's hair.
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Miranda Lambert walked into the New York Times Popcast this week to talk about a new album ... and walked out having confirmed one of country music's longest-running bar stories.
The incident happened in 2010 at Winners Bar and Grill in Nashville, during Lambert's 27th birthday party. Chad Kroeger, frontman of Nickelback, allegedly pressured her to take shots she had already declined. When she refused again, he made a comment. Lambert grabbed a jar from his hand.
"I threw moonshine in his face. I did do that," she told the podcast. When hosts asked if it was playful, she said: "No."
The hair detail is the one that lands
Lambert offered a brief inventory of the aftermath. Kroeger's hair: "I wrecked it." The room: "It was a lot, and it was just a late night, and no one was in their best state. But it's true." Her then-fiancé Blake Shelton reportedly moved toward Kroeger after the incident and had to be held back by others at the bar.
On whether she and Kroeger have made peace in the 16 years since: "I don't know if we're fine now, but I don't care."
Why she's talking about it now
Lambert's 11th studio album Crisco arrives October 4, a country-disco record built around what she called "a lot of joy" after years of fiery and heartbreak-focused work. The Popcast appearance was part of the promo run. Kroeger has not publicly responded to this or any version of the story.
Lambert also noted that Avril Lavigne, Kroeger's ex-wife, later performed at Lambert's own CMA Fest set. Both women landed somewhere better than where that bar night left things. Neither of them seems to need a resolution from Kroeger.
Owning the messy version is the move now
What this episode actually demonstrates is how celebrity reputation management has shifted. Lambert did not issue a denial through counsel, did not over-explain, did not express regret. She told the podcast the same thing anyone would tell a friend: it happened, she would not have done it differently, nobody in that bar was at their best.
For 16 years the rumor existed in the not-quite-confirmed zone that tends to follow public figures around. Lambert just collapsed that zone. The story is cleaner this way, and notably funnier. Owning the exact detail, including the hair, is the kind of thing that turns a liability into a personality trait.
Watch whether Kroeger says anything before the next Nickelback tour date. The over-under on that looks bad for anyone who bet on "no comment" holding.
Ad Watch News is an independent commentary site with no affiliation to Miranda Lambert, Chad Kroeger, Nickelback, or the New York Times.
Sources & further reading
- Whiskey Riff: "I Threw Moonshine In His Face" — Miranda Lambert Finally Confirms Long-Standing Rumor About a Fight With Nickelback's Chad Kroeger
- Thought Catalog: Miranda Lambert Finally Talked About Throwing a Drink on Nickelback's Frontman
- KSAT / AP: Miranda Lambert returns with country-disco album Crisco
- Wikimedia Commons: Miranda Lambert, Bandwagon Tour 2019. Photo by Loco4Music, CC BY-SA 4.0
