In a 2009 interview given to "Boston" magazine, Pedroia criticized his home town of Woodland, California, calling it a "dump" and a city that never embraced him. This generated backlash from his hometown and his family received death threats. Pedroia later clarified his comments saying he was only joking and his comments were taken out of context. The original article's author, however, insisted that his use of the comment was not misleading. His transcript of the interview quoted Pedroia as saying "It's a dump. You can quote me on that. I don't give a shit."