Did Ariana Grande Throw Subtle Shade at Carrie Underwood Following Her Inauguration Performance?

Social media is a confusing world of smoke and mirrors, sure, but we couldn’t help but notice something catching our eye through the fog: did Ariana Grande throw subtle shade at Carrie Underwood following the country’s star performance at the 2025 presidential inauguration? To be clear, we aren’t for pitting musicians against one another, particularly female musicians.

But given the intense political divide and controversy surrounding Carrie Underwood’s performance, one can’t help but wonder if Grande knew what she was doing when she liked a mocking Instagram post. On the other hand, and we can’t stress this enough, maybe it’s not that serious after all.

Ariana Grande Reacts To Social Media Post About Carrie Underwood

If Carrie Underwood thought the stress of preparing for a presidential inauguration performance was bad, then she was in for a whole other level of anxiety when the backing track for her rendition of “America the Beautiful” failed to play. There was a brief moment that morning where it seemed likely the ceremony would skip over the country star’s performance altogether. But e’er the professional, Underwood pushed through, opting for an a capella performance. In a video shared to X, formerly known as Twitter, Underwood can be seen mouthing the words, “I’ll just sing it,” to the sound technician.

“If you know the words, help me out here,” she begins, before starting an a capella version of the classic song. Underwood performed her song surrounded by notable political figures, including former Vice President Kamala Harris. The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee’s facial expressions while listening to Underwood sing spurred a tidal wave of memes. (The internet is always going to do its thing, no matter what.) And one of those memes ended up on Ariana Grande’s Instagram feed.

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Writer and self-proclaimed “Sarah Michelle Gellar” historian Evan Ross Katz shared a photo of Harris standing behind Underwood with the caption, “Kamala Harris evoking Coco Montrese (“Girl, find the note”) watching Carrie Underwood at today’s chilling inauguration.” Katz was referring to drag queen Coco Montrese, who dropped that quote during a talking head on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Eagle-eyed Instagram users were quick to spot that pop star and Wicked actor Ariana Grande liked Katz’s post, leaving many to wonder if the former Nickelodeon star was throwing subtle shade at the country singer. 

Was It Shade Or A Harmless Social Media Interaction?

People love to spin up a narrative about two musicians, especially women, disliking one another. In an effort not to do the same thing, let’s look at this from a different angle: Ariana Grande is a long-time fan of RuPaul’s Drag Race, even appearing as a guest judge in season 15. Coco Montrese, the drag queen Evan Ross Katz referenced in his Instagram post, was a season five alum of Drag Race. So, it stands to reason that a devoted fan like Grande would not only know who Montrese is but likely remember the episode where he delivered his iconic line for the first time.

Maybe Grande was laughing at the Drag Race deep cut. After all, the twisted expression on Harris’ face that Katz’s post references was a candid photo of the former vice president singing along, as Underwood requested before she began “America the Beautiful.” Or, maybe Grande’s reaction to the post was politically motivated. The pop star hasn’t often directly denounced President Donald Trump, but she has shown support for causes and publications that do. Underwood’s decision to perform at the inauguration certainly kicked up plenty of controversy.

Nevertheless, a heart reaction on an Instagram post is hardly a blazing gun. For that matter, Grande’s finger could have slipped. Whatever the reason for Grande’s reaction to the subtly shady post about Underwood, social media will make sure all of us common folk see it.

Photo by Taylor Hill/FilmMagic