Maren Morris doesn’t ‘feel comfortable’ going to the CMAs at this point

I’ve mostly ignored the drama between Maren Morris and the Aldeans, but let’s get into it. Maren Morris is a country singer, part of the “new country music” movement led by younger women, diametrically opposed to the Bro Country movement. Jason Aldean is Bro Country, very conservative, very right-wing everything. Jason Aldean is married to Brittany Aldean, who is now a self-styled right-wing figure. The drama began when Brittany was transphobic on her social media, which then led to Cassadee Pope and Maren Morris clapping back on Brittany online. Maren called her “Insurrection Barbie” and wrote “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human?” Brittany started booking appearances on Fox News immediately, then Tucker Carlson referred to Maren Morris as a “lunatic country music person who I hope leaves country music immediately.” Maren put that on a t-shirt and the profits go to Trans Lifeline and GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program. Now Maren is talking about politics and all of the sh-t that’s gone down with the Aldeans. She spoke to the LA Times. Some highlights:

She didn’t run her “Insurrection Barbie” tweet by anyone: “No, I just shot it off. I hate feeling like I need to be the hall monitor of treating people like human beings in country music. It’s exhausting. But there’s a very insidious culture of people feeling very comfortable being transphobic and homophobic and racist, and that they can wrap it in a joke and no one will ever call them out for it. It just becomes normal for people to behave like that.

Calling Brittany Aldean ‘Insurrection Barbie’ is factual: “Well, it’s kind of true, because the whole conspiracy theory peddling of Jan. 6, they totally partook in that. Look, I’m not a victim in this and neither is she. But I don’t have feelings of kindness when it comes to humans being made fun of for questioning their identity, especially kids. The whole “When they go low, we go high” thing doesn’t work with these people. Any resistance movement is not done with kind words. And there’s a lot worse things I could’ve called her.

Speaking out against transphobia: “I think just the culture of misinformation that goes along with trans youth is where I was coming from. It’s not, “Oh, this is bad, and this is good, and we can agree to disagree.” No, we can’t, and you are being fed information that is false. And even though you’re not the one with the bullet in the gun, your words matter. Your disinformation matters. That hospital in Boston just had a bomb threat because people who listen to that rhetoric literally think they’re mutilating kids and don’t bother reading any sort of actual study on it.

A lot of country music people are on her side: “I think it’s just a common-sense thing at this point. Friends that aren’t in country music, they ask me, “What the hell is going on in Nashville right now with these people?” And I’m always like, “It’s fewer than you think.” Sometimes I feel like I’m in this abusive relationship and I keep defending it: “It’s not all bad!” But sometimes you have to call it out for what it is. I think there are people in country music that want it to be niche. They don’t want it to expand. They don’t care about it becoming more inclusive. It’s theirs, and everyone else is an other, or woke, or whatever. That’s sad to me, because I feel like country music at its core is people’s real stories. And to think there’s only one kind of person that gets to live them out and celebrate them is not why I’ve chosen to live there or make music within those walls.

Whether she’s going to the CMA Awards on Nov. 9: “Honestly, I haven’t decided if I’m gonna go. I’m very honored that my record is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now. So many people I love will be in that room, and maybe I’ll make a game-time decision and go. But as of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going. I think I was more sad going last year. Some nights are fun. Others I’m just crawling out of my skin. I’m not good at those events because I’m awkward. But this time I kind of feel peaceful at the notion of not going.

[From The LA Times]

She talks a lot about her good girlfriends in country music, Kacey Musgraves and Brandi Carlisle, and how they all feel like there are two “country music” industries. One industry for the Bro Country douchebags, the right-wingers who want to speak into an echo chamber. One industry for the women who are actually growing their music industry and modernizing it. Anyway, I get why Maren wouldn’t feel comfortable going to the CMAs. She doesn’t know which industry is represented there, and the Aldeans would absolutely try to start sh-t. Insurrection at the CMAs!

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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36 Responses to “Maren Morris doesn’t ‘feel comfortable’ going to the CMAs at this point”

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  1. CROWHOOD says:

    The craziest part of this whole thing to me was finding out that Brittany Aldean is simply…the wife of Maren’s peer? She was talking big loud about Maren and that Chickadee lady and she is…a wife?

    • Mslove says:

      Jason Aldean cheated on his first wife & mother of his kids with Brittany.

      • Erin says:

        They are trash and I will never wrap my mind around women wanting to marry men like that. He’s gross in every sense and I doubt she would’ve looked at him twice if he wasn’t a country music star.

  2. girl_ninja says:

    Marin is THAT woman. She stands up for what’s right, backs those who are voiceless and works hard at her craft. Aldean is a person who had an affair with a married man and is now the wife. I still think he’ll cheat on her too if he hasn’t yet. Aldean doesn’t DO anything but post hate and have fillers inject. She’s a horrible person and so is her husband.

    • Noo says:

      Also Maren’s music is so good, I have gone deep on The Middle and the Bones in the past but I’m going to listen to more of her music this morning. I’m on a strong woman music vibe this week.

      • Liz Version 700k says:

        I love her music so so much! The Bones is one of my favorite Albums. Knowing how much she went in to defend people who don’t have a voice makes me want to download her entire collection. I am so happy to see some strong women voices coming back to country music. I grew up listening to Reba and so many strong women in country music…didn’t listen to the entire genre for years because the Bro dumb a$$es turned me off so so so much. Musgraves is also good. But sadly most of country music is filled with dumb jerks singing about women in bikinis and guns with beer…🤦🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️

    • Otaku fairy says:

      And of course Tucker Carlson can’t handle a younger woman calling those things out without crying mental illness. Typical PAB.
      Clearly and thankfully, the tired anti-SJW silencing tactics aren’t working on her. She sees them for what they are, and she’s right. These things do become how people behave, and it doesn’t really make much sense to express sadness about violence certain groups of people face while telling people to go through life just ignoring the messages that encourage the violence.

    • Twin Falls says:

      Marin is brave. I respect what she’s trying to do but country music as it is now is built on patriarchy and seeped in all the toxic -isms.

      • Houlihan says:

        It’s the Dixie Chicks v Toby Keith all over again. But — as long-timers like Dolly and Loretta and Linda and Emmylou can testify — mainstream country music from the big Nashville labels has ALWAYS been white bro dominated. And there’s always been two* country musics, the mainstream one filtered through the bro executives v the independent diverse one. Maren, Kacey, Dolly, Brandi (who passionately insists her music be categorized for awards as American Folk, not Country, bc of the toxic bro culture), Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, Kathy Mattea, Pam Tillis & other big non-conformist non-male country artists are the exception. Maren is just carrying on the tradition of Dolly — using her power to stick it to the establishment, standing up for marginalized ppl, and refusing to go away.

      • kirk says:

        @Houlihan – had no memory what you were talking about with Dixie Chicks v Toby Keith. Crazy. Sounds like Meghan could get some inspiration for Archetypes podcast from the naked EW cover the Chicks did.

    • BeanieBean says:

      I like everything Maren said here.

  3. MY3CENTS says:

    I don’t know who these people are but I thought it was Klohe Kardashian at first.

    • Louise says:

      Thank you! I was thinking “hmmmm….Selena Gomez with a Kardashian filter?”

      • Kitten says:

        Hahaha right? She’s like a crazy amalgamation of several celebs…KK, Selena Gomez…I see a little Chrissy Tegan in there, too.

        Anyway, she seems like an awesome person. Good for her to standing up to those two aholes and for standing up for trans youths.

    • tealily says:

      Yeah, she has her old face.

  4. Joan Callamezzo says:

    Not much of a country music fan but if I was Team Maren. Using the tee shirts as a fundraiser-brilliant way to turn a negative into a positive. Love her.

  5. North of Boston says:

    Maren Morris is very talented and has some crossover success (The Bones and others)

    I totally get her statement about going to the CMA’s. When a community is infected with bigotry, and those bigots have power in it, even if they’re just a loud minority, sometimes you want to stand up, be counted, hold your head high and reclaim ground for humanity.

    But other times you can feel like “why am I even subjecting myself to these ignorant loser j-holes? I can hang out with sane, non-bigoted people instead. I give myself permission to take a night off, remove myself from the self-congratulatory ignoramuses. “

  6. Blue Nails Betty says:

    I love Maren for both her music and her willingness to speak out for marginalized communities however, she is dead wrong. The country western music industry is RIDDLED with bigotry. From Trump supporting Loretta Lynn (and her entire generation) to conservative golfer George Strait (who owes a lot of his fortune to Mexican and Black listeners yet said not one word when Trump was blasting the Mexican and Black communities) down to the newbies hitting the radios.

    There are good people (Dolly, Garth and Tricia, Tim and Faith etc) but the misogyny (in the songs and who gets airtime) is off the charts. The gatekeeping (against anyone who isn’t a conservative, white, straight male) is off the charts.

    Jason and Current Wife are the norm.

    Having said that, this new, younger generation IS doing a little better so maybe those are the people she knows and is basing this on.

  7. Liv says:

    I have not listened to Maren before, but I will now!

  8. Emmi says:

    I don’t know much about country music but it sounds a bit like the problem with Hip Hop and Rap. It’s always been riddled with problematic stuff (yeah yeah, Eminem in fact LOVES the LGBTQ+ community because Elton said so, whatever) and yet, I’m a fan. Always have been. As a woman it’s a difficult thing and while the genre has changed, it’s still full of problematic crap.

    So calling people out is a great thing, respect to this lady, I may check out her music.

    • Blue Nails Betty says:

      It’s widespread in the music industry as a whole. But some of the young’uns are helping to open things up.

    • MC2 says:

      Conflating country music’s issues with hip hop is missing the bigger picture that country music reps the dominate power group in this society trying to keep its position, while rap & hip hop is the subjugated group of society speaking against the system (I’m not thinking of Eminem, but the genre as a whole).
      While both have issues with ingrained misogyny, only one genre wants to keep the white, patriarchal system of power we have now.

      • Emmi says:

        I didn’t miss this point, I just chose to come at it from a listener’s and fan‘s perspective. In both instances a big question is how can you be a fan if you’re not at all agreeing with one of the genre’s main messages.

      • kirk says:

        “They’re pickin’ up the prisoners
        And puttin ’em in a pen
        And all she wants to do is dance, dance
        Rebels been rebels
        Since I don’t know when
        And all she wants to do is dance.”

        Must I adopt musicians’ politics in order to hear their music?
        Never tuned in to Maren Morris before, but she’s now lined up to play next after ‘Indigenous Now’ on Apple Music.

  9. Elsa says:

    I cannot stand Britany Aldean. She is the absolute worst person who peddles hate. I am a huge country music fan and a blue dog democrat. The two things can exist together! Bro country is vile and not representative of the best of country music. I’ve got tickets to see the Chicks and Kacey at ACL.

    I used to like Aldean’s music. He does have some nice songs. But then Britany started publicly Trumping and I stopped listening. Britany is getting that pinched mean girl republican face now too.

    • Christine says:

      What’s sad is that he would 100% dump her without thought if this negatively affected his career any. They’ll get their reckoning eventually.

    • kgeo says:

      I was raised on country, and still hold some near and dear to my heart, but I can just about pinpoint when I stopped liking it. With the exception of Brandi Carlisle, I haven’t heard any of the women listed here. I hate bro country so much that I never turn on the country station. I might have to give them a try.

  10. Mindy_delacalle says:

    I’ve never listened to her music but she just gained a fan. I’m going to check her out!

  11. FhMom says:

    This is all news to me, but good for Marin. The douche bros do not have a monopoly on country music. It’s not right that she would feel unsafe because of her (righteous) views.

  12. Trillion says:

    I will attempt to tolerate New Country to support her!

  13. tealily says:

    I don’t know her at all, but I do now. I think she’s right about everything she’s saying here. “’When they go low, we go high’” thing doesn’t work with these people. Any resistance movement is not done with kind words.” Exactly this.

    I think we’ve fully proved at this point that agreeing to disagree and letting your nutty uncle say whatever he’s gonna say to avoid conflict isn’t working. It’s getting people killed.

  14. Olive says:

    I cannot stand Jason Aldean! I refuse to listen to any of his music (and Carrie Underwood- whyyyyy does she have to sing SO LOUD allllll the time!!!). He grosses me out and him and his wife are terrible human beings.

    I did read tho that his PR firm dropped him after 17 years after Brittany’s comments… but I’m sure he’s already scooped up by someone else.

    I love Maren speaking up like this!

  15. Lavender says:

    I just downloaded Maren’s latest album in response to this drama. On her team all the way.
    I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks cheating Jason Andean and his cheerleader Barbie wife, are disgusting human beings. He’s a terrible singer in real life too, btw.