Oliver Anthony was in a very dark place prior to writing his new song “Scornful Woman.”
During a recent conversation with Joe Rogan, the singer reveals just how bad it got.
- “Scornful Woman” describes a very bitter divorce settlement.
- Oliver Anthony wrote the song with Billy Contreras, Draven Riffe and Joey Davis.
- During a previous episode of the Joe Rogan Experience, the podcast host revealed Anthony went through a divorce and his wife, Tiffany, did indeed try to take half of everything (and maybe more).
Related: “Scornful Woman”? Who is Oliver Anthony’s Wife?
Rogan and Anthony talked for more than three hours about a wide range of topics, circling back to his career about once every hour. There were some real revelations about the singer’s life since “Rich Men North of Richmond” went viral in 2023. It’s clear he’s confidently in control of his life and career.
Oliver Anthony’s Joe Rogan Interview: 5 Things We Learned
1. “Rich Men North of Richmond” paid off
The very first check Anthony says he got for the song was for $800,000. This was more money than he’d ever seen, and he joked that he considered retiring on the spot.
2. He’s an independent artist, but …
There was tremendous pressure to sign with a record label early on, but people like Rogan persuaded Anthony to remain an indie act. For a few weeks he had a manager, but after that person tried to persuade him to praise Beyoncé’s country album on social media, he fired him.
While Anthony owns his own publishing and record label, he does work with Warner Chappell for publishing administration. That’s mostly so he can collect royalties overseas, and he’s only charged nine percent. However, the relationship became strained when Anthony asked them to “whitelist” about 40 reaction videos for “Scornful Woman.” They balked, so he stuck his lawyers on ’em and they agreed to do it for 30 days.
3. An Oliver Anthony record label?
Anthony says he’s got about six more songs recorded that he’ll release eventually. After that, it’s a bit of mystery. He indicated he’ll fade in and out of the spotlight, but plans to build an infrastructure to help other artists like him. That could mean festivals, management and a record label.
4. He really wants to meet Alex Jones
Alex Jones is the far right radio show host and conspiracy theorist who wrongly claimed a 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary was a hoax. Rogan is friends with him, so when Anthony says meeting Jones is on his bucket list, Rogan responds that he can consider it done.
5. What led to “Scornful Woman”?
Anthony tells Rogan he wants to clarify a few things about “Scornful Woman,” but never circles back to it. Instead, he tells the story of how the song was written.
“But obviously things are what they are,” is as close to confirming a divorce as Anthony gets. Anyone hoping for details or a life update as it relates to his children will be disappointed.
“There were multiple, different negative things happening all at once and I got in a post where I did my thing where I sort of spiraled and was isolating myself,” Anthony begins. “I spent a month-and-a-half or two months in that house. I didn’t do Thanksgiving or Christmas last year. Just really didn’t hardly talk to anybody or anything.”
Riffe and Davis joined Anthony during this dark period (late 2024). They were together late one night and they decided to write something. “I said, ‘Well if you’re gonna write a song … it’s gotta be something that you feel not something that you can just articulate about. It’s gotta be something that’s in there that’s got to come out,'” the singer shares.
“We sat there for like 10 seconds and ‘Scornful Woman’ was the word that was used and it was specific relationships, but also it was a collection of the experiences that we’d all had. We’d all had horrible relationships in the past.”
Within two or three minutes, the whole song was written, Anthony adds before Rogan pushes play on the song.
The response to “Scornful Woman” has been strong, but nowhere near what “Rich Men …” was. In the first 12 days it has about seven million streams between YouTube and Spotify. Sales numbers and chart positions will be released by Billboard on Monday afternoon (June 16).
The Best Oliver Anthony Songs — His Entire Catalog, Ranked
Taste of Country ranked all 19 songs Anthony has released so far. Most were cell phone recordings at first (later recorded for the Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind album), but we didn’t hold a lack of production quality against him. Instead, each song is rated based on strength of message, originality and overall appeal.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
