Influencer and podcast host Jake Shane has faced criticism online following his interview with country singer Kacey Musgraves on the latest episode of his Therapuss podcast.

During the conversation, Shane asked the Grammy-winning artist whether she had a favourite song or lyric from her own catalogue. Musgraves described the question as “toxic” before selecting her 2018 track “Slow Burn”.

Shane then quoted one of the song’s lyric, “In Tennessee, the sun’s goin’ down / But in Beijing, they’re headin’ out to work,” before asking Musgraves what the line meant.

Shane admitted that he and a colleague had “debated every single day” about the lyric’s meaning, prompting visible disbelief from the singer.

“Really?” Musgraves replied. “It’s not like a deep-coded thing. This one isn’t.”

When Shane repeated the question, Musgraves clarified the lyric directly. “It literally just means what it means,” she said.

“It just means they’re going to work and I’m over here — like the sun’s going down in Tennessee — and over there across the world it’s a different day and they’re like going to work and starting their next day.”

She added that she wrote the lyric while sitting on her porch in Tennessee, imagining people elsewhere in the world beginning their day as hers was ending.

The interview quickly sparked reactions on social media, with several users mocking the exchange and renewing criticism over influencers conducting celebrity interviews.

“We need to end influencer interviews in lieu of actual journalism because what do you mean Kacey Musgraves had to explain how time zones work to Jake Shane?” one X user wrote.

Another commented, “Every guest he has on seems to have to walk through explaining very simple concepts.”