Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic
Alexis Wilkins, the conservative country singer who is the longtime girlfriend of FBI director Kash Patel, is responding to critics after announcing that she has been booked to perform at a Freedom 250 event on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Wednesday. She was invited to sing because of her standing as a popular performer, “on my own accord,” she insisted, slamming “sham accusations” suggesting otherwise.
The outspoken artist tweeted about her appearance on Tuesday afternoon, writing on X, “What a great honor to be a part of the 250th birthday of this great nation!,” with an image of the Washington Monument behind her. Evidently she was checking her replies, because within two hours of the initial tweet, the outspoken artist responded angrily to a freelance journalist who wrote, “Does having the FBI director’s girlfriend getting paid by the taxpayers to perform violate federal ethics laws?”
Wilkins quote-tweeted that reply and defended herself with a message that said: “1. I have been a country music artist for years now. I have had a successful career in both music and commentary/strategy. People don’t get to negate that for clicks or headlines. I was invited to sing this anthem on my own accord, as I have been many other places throughout my career.”
She continued, “2. I am not accepting payment for this great honor.” For her third point, Wilkins said, “3. The Freedom250 entire celebration is on a fundraising arm; neither UFC nor any National Mall celebrations are ‘taxpayer funded’ (you would think, as a journalist, this would be something she would know or at least look into). I’m no longer accepting false narratives and total sham accusations that diminish my hard work and earned accomplishments, so please expect this kind of response to continue.”
Let's just get a few things straight, because this is long overdue.
1. I have been a country music artist for years now. I have had a successful career in both music and commentary/strategy. People don't get to negate that for clicks or headlines. I was invited to sing this… pic.twitter.com/ubinSNZYHD
Wilkins has, indeed, become arguably one of the nation’s most talked-about country artists, due in part to controversies that have surrounded her relationship with Patel, including the issue of whether he has used any taxpayer money on trips to see her perform,, and whether having her escorted by SWAT teams is an appropriate use of that arm of law enforcement.
The headlines have helped make her a cause celebre among some conservatives, but whether it has translated to actual consumption of her music is another matter: On Spotify, she is currently listed as having 5,863 monthly listeners.
As a slew of performers dropped out of a concert series planned by Freedom 250 for the National Lawn — including Martina McBride, Bret Michaels, Morris Day and Young MC — there was speculation, some of it joking and some of it serious, that President Donald J. Trump would replace the exiting artists with Lee Greenwood and Wilkins. Now both parts of that prophecy have come to pass, with Trump already having announced that he had secured Greenwood to sing his 1980s-era signature song “God Bless the USA.”
Currently, Wilkins has only one concert date listed on her website, an an appearance at Chicago’s Windy City Smokeout on July 11. But her X feed shows that she did perform this past Saturday at the Barefoot Country Fest in Wildwood, New Jersey, as the sixth on a seven-artist bill that included Post Malone, Tucker Wetmore, the Fray, Dasha and Ashley Kutcher.
The vast majority of Wilkins’ X feed is devoted to taking MAGA positions, and not to promoting her musical endeavors, as an activist taking stands for the NRA and other organizations.
“Juneteenth is great because it’s a day we can all take a moment and remember that republicans marched in and forced democrats to stop enslaving people,” she wrote on the day honoring Black emancipation. When plans for Trump to visit China were announced in May, she wrote, “President Trump is making history and furthering our interests overseas, while the haters spin like a top making up a new fake news thing to complain about. Cry more. What a fantastic and humbling time to be alive. So proud to be an American under this administration.”
Wilkins often speaks out against the mainstream media. On June 1, she sued MS Now, saying she was defamed in a report published in December that claimed Patel ordered Wilkins’ security detail to escort one of her friends home after a night of drinking in Nashville. “This was hogwash and they knew it,” the lawsuit said. “Journalists cannot avoid accountability by hiding behind fabricated ‘anonymous’ sources. This lawsuit seeks to bring accountability for Defendants’ egregious lies.”
The suit continued, “As a country singer, author, and political advocate, known for her Christian, patriotic, America-First, and pro-law enforcement values, her brand and ability to work in her profession would be significantly damaged if her employers, her publishers, her listeners, or her readers believed that she was abusing the public trust and using her relationship with Director Patel to misappropriate FBI resources.”
In March, the New York Times ran a story about Wilkins being escorted by a SWAT team, calling her “one of the best-protected country music singers in the U.S. … Patel’s demand that rotating SWAT teams provide his girlfriend with security for singing appearances, personal engagements and errands is unprecedented in the FBI, former agents said.” The newspaper continued, “Patel’s personal use of government jets and FBI agents for himself and Wilkins has led to growing questions — even inside the Trump administration.”
Last week, Wilkins was named as being a performer at a Freedom 250 event to be held in Belgium June 28, opening for the Zac Brown Band.
Her Spotify discography does not include any full albums as of yet, but does show a six-song EP and three singles released in 2020 through 2023.
