Maines, Maguire, and Robinson’s anti-war sentiments put them far outside the mainstream beliefs of the country music world. Fellow country music performers like Toby Keith and Daryl Worley had been quick to voice their support of the troops, releasing overtly patriotic songs and albums in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. It seems this was the kind of pro-America fare that country music lovers expected from their favorite performers.

Fans were quick to express their displeasure with The Dixie Chicks. They demanded radio stations stop playing their music, causing their single Landslide to fall off the Billboard Hot 100 chart after just one week. According to Billboard, some fans retaliated by crushing their Chicks CDs and paraphernalia with a bulldozer. The band members received death threats, and were forced to install metal detectors at their concerts, per the BBC.

In 2006, The Dixie Chicks released a follow-up album, Taking the Long Way, which addressed the backlash they received from their comments. Although the album won them a Grammy in 2007, their record sales remained low, and radio play on country music stations was almost nonexistent. The three Chicks kept a fairly low profile for next decade, until the release of their title track single Gaslighter took fans and critics by storm earlier this year.