The country stars said they share “common values” with Johnson despite their likely different political views
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NEED TO KNOW
- Brothers Osborne and Cody Johnson collaborated on “Born and Raised Hell” off the Brothers’ new album Watertown
- The brothers emphasized focusing on shared values and mutual respect over political differences in their music collaborations
- “The sum of Cody Johnson is an awesome, awesome person,” said TJ
Brothers Osborne and Cody Johnson may not exactly see eye to eye on politics, but that doesn’t mean they can’t still make music in harmony.
TJ and John Osborne opened up to Rolling Stone about “Born and Raised Hell,” their new collaboration with Johnson, and said that while they haven’t talked politics with the star, it’s safe to “assume” they likely have differing opinions.
“Those collaborations had nothing to do with anything other than we respect Cody as a performer and a singer,” TJ told the outlet. “There’s obviously differences there. There’s huge differences between he and I. Cody’s a great guy, and he may do things that other people disagree with, or I disagree with. But really, the sum of Cody Johnson is an awesome, awesome person.”
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TJ, 41, publicly came out as gay in February 2021, and he and John, 44, have been outspoken about their progressive beliefs over the years, including advocating for gun control.
John once described himself and his brother as the “lonely liberals” in their hometown of Deale, Md., and said their goal is never to “divide anyone,” but to encourage people to speak for what they believe in.
Johnson, meanwhile, has not publicly identified with any political party, but often speaks about the pride he has in his patriotism during his concerts. In June 2025, on a day when more than 2,000 No Kings demonstrations protested President Trump, Johnson encouraged his crowd to “protest the protests.”
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In their interview with Rolling Stone, TJ said he considers Johnson, 39, a friend, and finds it “badass” that the singer is “accepting [of] us for who we are.”
“We hung out quite a bit back in the day, not a ton, but enough to know what someone is like, to their core,” TJ said. “And he’s the same dude. Being in the studio with him was great. Being on stage with him at CMA Fest was great. He knows that he’s Cody Johnson, but he’s really a humble dude, and there’s so many common values that we do have. I’m a fan, and I’m also proud of the collaborations we did.”
John, meanwhile, called the collaboration a “testament” to their hometown of Deale.
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“A lot of our family, we have opposing beliefs, and is it frustrating? Yeah, it is frustrating, but you love them because you can see the human under there,” he said. “And it goes both ways.”
TJ added that he never thinks of politics when he plays artists like Hank Williams Jr., who is outspoken about his conservative beliefs.
“There has never been someone like, ‘Man, I really agree with them politically, but their music sucks, so I like their music,’” said John.
Brothers Osborne will release their new album Watertown on Oct. 23. They previously appeared on one of Johnson’s songs, “Fool Proof,” earlier this year.
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