Who Is Oliver Anthony? The 'Rich Men North Of Richmond' Singer's 'Industry Plant' Accusations Explained

A video featuring a red-bearded man singing a folk tune in the woods went viral earlier this week in conservative internet circles for its attempt at portraying the struggles of working-class Americans. The video of Oliver Anthony delivering a rendition of his song "Rich Men North Of Richmond" in a forested setting was widely shared on Elon Musk's X, with the Daily Wire's Matt Walsh commending the song as "raw and authentic."

But how "authentic" is the tune's rapid rise to fame, and what is it about Anthony's song that has drawn the attention of the likes of Matt Walsh and Marjorie Taylor Greene? Here's everything we know about the song currently racing through Billboard charts.

Who Is Oliver Anthony And What Is 'Rich Men North of Richmond' About?

According to his Wikipedia page, Oliver Anthony is an ex-factory worker from North Carolina who decided to pursue music full-time in 2021. His first viral hit came in the form of the song "Rich Men North of Richmond," which he released in early August 2023. A video of him performing the tune was uploaded to YouTube on August 9th and gathered over 10 million views in less than a week (seen below).

The song discusses working-class themes like being overworked and earning less than you're worth, with Anthony also touching on topics that could be considered conservative; like complaining about "obese" people "milking welfare" and calling himself an "old soul." The song resonated with conservative thinkers like Matt Walsh and Marjorie Taylor Greene, who shared the video and commended Anthony's talents.

However, internet sleuths have theorized that Oliver Anthony's real name is Christopher Lunsford, and he actually worked a sales desk job for a construction company in the Richmond suburbs. The unconfirmed speculation about him not having written the song is based on Anthony's history as a cover artist.

turns out Oliver Anthony is Chris Lunsford, lives in the Richmond suburbs, works a sales desk job at a construction supply company in the city. every detail about him is a lie. he didn't even write the song. the only true part is that he owns a half million dollar plot of land. pic.twitter.com/mrlndSyM4a

— Dr. Andrew Saturn (@badspaceguy) August 16, 2023

What Did The Wider Internet Audience Think About The Song?

While the song found fans in politically right thinkers enamored by the idea of a working-class stiff making it big in a generally progressive American music industry, Oliver Anthony's video also gathered criticism from internet users who did not find all of his lyrics to be politically poignant or representative of pressing working-class issues.

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Several internet users found his decision to focus an entire stanza on "obese" "fudge round" enjoyers less than insightful. Others commented on how the lyrics, "I wish politicians would look out for miners, and not just minors on an island somewhere" made it seem like Anthony did not support the campaign to protect and bring justice to Epstein's victims.

Is Oliver Anthony An Industry Plant?

The sharp rise of Anthony's deeply politicized song through the Billboard and iTunes charts raised eyebrows across the political spectrum, with one conservative MAGA supporter digging into the song's marketing and production in an attempt to see if there was more to the story.

X user @theMAGAHulk dug into the alleged connection between Oliver Anthony and media company Reach Inc CEO Jason Howerton, purportedly finding that the company appeared to make good on its promise to help people "grow their social media footprint exponentially.”

I didn’t want to comment on all this because Oliver Anthony seems like a genuinely great guy, but Matt Walsh’s sanctimonious word vomit forced my hand.There was nothing authentic about this song’s rise to popularity.Jason Howerton seems to be the key player involved in the… https://t.co/vrraNZc5b0 pic.twitter.com/dWG69kj30j

— Lucky (@TheMagaHulk) August 14, 2023

A few days after the song's release, Anthony performed for a packed crowd at a farmer's market in North Carolina, with some people noting that he conspicuously decided to leave out his lyrics about fat people in his live performance.

he keeps leaving out the verse about people getting fat on welfare and i can’t imagine why https://t.co/aqFVWKBQAd

— kelbin (@pissboymcgee) August 14, 2023

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For the full history of Oliver Anthony's "Rich Men North of Richmond", be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.