Maren Morrismay be nominated for the coveted album of the year award at this year’s CMA Awards, but whether she’ll attend is still up in the air.
Morris, 32, opened up about her mixed feelings in a new interview with theLos Angeles Times, and said she often feels “awkward” at such events. This year’s ceremony also comes amid apublic feud with Brittany Kerr Aldean, the wife of fellow country starJason Aldean, after Brittany made a transphobic comment on Instagram.
“Honestly, I haven’t decided if I’m gonna go,” Morris said. “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.”
She continued: “I think I was more sadgoinglast 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.”
The discussion of the CMAs comes just weeks after the “Circles Around This Town” singer publicly criticized Brittany, 34, for making a transphobic comment in an Instagram video amid ongoing debate and efforts torestrict access to gender-affirming care.
Maren Morris.Jason Kempin/Getty
“I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life,” she captioned a makeup reveal video in September.
Morris responded on Twitter: “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”
The exchange sparked additional back-and-forths between Morris, Brittany and other stars like Cassadee Pope, Lindsay Ell and more, and when Brittany appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show to discuss the situation, Carlson labeled Morris a “Lunatic Country Music Person.”
Morris, in turn,stuck the phrase on T-shirtsand sold them to fans, ultimately raising more than $150,000 for the Trans Lifeline and GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program.
The country star told theLA Timesthat it was actuallyKacey Musgraveswho told her about the Carlson segment, as she sent it in a group chat that also includesBrothers Osborne.
“I was like, ‘Oh, here we go.’ But I thought, ‘You know what? This would be really funny on a T-shirt: ‘Lunatic country music person,'” she said. “Thank you, Tucker. Was it funny? Sure. But if we can twist it into a charitable cause, let’s do it. Then it just exploded.”
Maren Morris, Brittany Kerr Aldean, Cassadee Pope.Jeff Kravitz/Getty for CMT; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic; Michael Loccisano/Getty for Little Kids Rock
Morris told theTimesthat she’ll wear the “lunatic” name as a “badge of honor,” and that she does not consider either her or Brittany victims in the situation.
“I don’t have feelings of kindness when it comes to humans being made fun of for questioning their identity, especially kids,” she said. “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 [than ‘Insurrection Barbie’].”
Though the singer said she does not believe she’s “lost any fans” amid the drama, as she believes she’s been “very clear from the get-go” on her politics, she does take issue with the “insidious culture” that can lurk in the country world.
“I hate feeling like I need to be the hall monitor of treating people like human beings in country music,” she said. “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.”
She continued: “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.”
Maren Morris plays Stagecoachon April 29, 2022.Timothy Norris/Getty
At least 13 U.S. states have signed anti-LGBTQ legislation into law, and another 23 states have introduced such bills in 2022 alone, according toHRC, with many of those laws targeting transgender youth and gender-affirming care.
Last month, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals published an opinion that 1990’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)extends to those suffering from gender dysphoria, a potential landmark ruling that could guarantee access to gender-affirming care.PresidentJoe Bidenrecentlypledged his support to trans citizensduring Transgender Day of Visibility in March, and he’s continued to urge Congress topass the long-overdue Equality Act.
source: people.com
