Did John Rich do Chely Wright wrong?

Politically conservative country star John Rich is trying to make nice for comments he made to Chely Wright, who recently came out as gay,  about the possibility of her being a lesbian.  According to Wright, Rich of “Big and Rich” fame asked her a few years back if she were in fact gay.  When she denied it he said good.  Here is the conversation as quoted from AccessHollywood:

“[John] said, ‘You’re not gay are you?!’ I said, ‘No, John, I’m not.’ He said, ‘Good, thank God.’ And that began a spiral for me,” the 39-year-old singer recalled. “I had a meltdown shortly after that.”

John Rich commented quickly in a manner that makes me believe he certainly did not mean harm by the comment.  In the famous country way Rich is one of those guys that wears his heart on his sleeve:

“I was clumsily trying to express my relief that even a country boy like me had a one-in-a-million chance of having a beer with a woman as talented and attractive as Chely,” the statement continued. “For years after that conversation, Chely invited me to perform at charity events. In all that time, I wish she would have said something directly to me before the book’s publicity tour, especially since some of the comments attributed to me in the book are not mine.”

The book Rich is referring to is Wright’s recent memoir “Like Me”.  There is the little parting shot about comments that weren’t his but hey he is just protecting his image.  John Rich is currently rounding up some help for the flood victims in Nashville.  Here is a screen shot from his Twitter page about a new song he has written and an appearance with legendary George Jones to drum up support:

I feel for Chely Wright as a gay performer in the county music profession.  I am sure it was an especially difficult way to go for the talented and beautiful singer but I don’t think John Rich is the enemy here.