Viral Star Oliver Anthony Warns Of America’s Impending Downfall

Few people have launched from obscurity to stardom as quickly as Oliver Anthony, who scored a chart-topping song with his viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond” earlier this month.

The reluctant celebrity reportedly turned down a multimillion-dollar contract offer, opting instead to retain control of his persona and continue singing songs from the heart. 

“I don’t want 6 tour buses, 15 tractor trailers and a jet,” he explained. “I don’t want to play stadium shows, I don’t want to be in the spotlight. I wrote the music I wrote because I was suffering with mental health and depression.”

Nevertheless, he has performed for audiences in various locations since his rapid rise to fame, using his newfound forum to elaborate on the challenges he believes the United States currently faces. 

In response to one Fox News reporter’s question at a recent concert in Moyock, North Carolina, Anthony criticized modern society — and the media in particular — for seeking to divide the American people. 

“You know, talking to their neighbors again and their coworkers and just trying to find similarities with each other instead of division — that’s really all I want,” he said.

If the nation’s current trajectory does not change, Anthony warned that the downfall of the United States is likely just a generation away.

“If we continue on the path we’re going down now, culturally, we won’t have a country very long,” he lamented. “Five years? Fifty years I don’t know. I mean, I don’t see our country lasting more than another generation the way we’re headed. We’ve got to go back to the roots of what made this country great in the first place, which was our sense of community.”

Eschewing any belief that he is “special,” Anthony said he believes his mission is simply to offer some hope through his music.

“There’s a lot of beautiful people in this world,” he concluded. “I met a lot of good people [working different jobs], and I meet people from all across the country, and the universal thing I see is that it’s like no matter how hard they push and how much effort they put in to whatever it is they’re doing, they just can’t quite get ahead. … People are just sick and tired of being sick and tired, so I want to be a voice for those people.”