South Dakota Ranchers Say No to Joan Jett on State's Macy Float

Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is a 87-year tradition but for next week’s parade there seems to be a little bit more controversy than usual.

The state of South Dakota is again sponsoring a float in the parade. For this year’s float, none of the original singer suggestions were available or accepted offers, so Macy’s selected Joan Jett to perform and ride on South Dakota’s float.

As field reporter Greg Martin shares, this really upset the state’s ranching community.

Martin: “According to a recent USA Today article, South Dakota Cattlemen’s Association President, Cory Eich said he thinks was a mistake to select Jett because she is a supporter of PETA which promotes a vegetarian diet and criticizes livestock production practices. Her views don’t mesh with South Dakota where the cattle industry is a large part of the state’s economy. Eich said that to him it seems like a huge blunder.”

Last week, it was announced that Jett would participated in the parade from a top another float. No word yet on who will be on the South Dakota float.

Hopefully, Jett’s replacement will better represent this hard-working natural resource state.

More than 3 million people are expected to watch the parade on the streets of New York and more than 50 million will be watching the event on television nationwide.