Dixie Chick sorry for Bush comment

NASHVILLE —  The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines, who told a London audience last week that she was “ashamed” of President Bush, now says she’s sorry for her comment.

“As a concerned American citizen, I apologize to President Bush because my remark was disrespectful,” she said Friday in a statement. “I feel that whoever holds that office should be treated with the utmost respect.”

The Dixie Chicks, who are from Texas, are on a European tour. Maines had told a London audience, “Just so you know, we’re ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.”

Angry phone calls flooded a Nashville radio station Thursday, some calling for a boycott of the trio’s music. Two Dallas stations stopped playing the group’s music because of Maines’ comments.

On Friday, Maines said that while on tour in Europe, the group is “witnessing a huge anti-American sentiment as a result of the perceived rush to war.”

“While war may remain a viable option, as a mother, I just want to see every possible alternative exhausted before children and American soldiers’ lives are lost,” she said. “I love my country. I am a proud American.”