Maren Morris Continues Her Outspoken Allyship by Calling Out Tucker Carlson in GLAAD Awards Speech

Country music superstar Maren Morris doesn’t hold back when it comes to riding for the LGBTQ+ community. And calling out Tucker Carlson during the middle of her GLAAD acceptance speech is just another example of her allyship. 

At Saturday night’s 34th GLAAD Awards, Morris took to the stage to accept the Excellence in Media awards, the first country artist to receive the accolade. RuPaul’s Drag Race alumni Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Alyssa Edwards presented her with the award before the “My Church” singer shared a few words about her debacle with the former Fox News host. 

“I felt a little badass taking on Tucker Carlson for calling me a lunatic for standing up to transphobia,” Morris told the ceremony’s crowd. “Maybe I did feel a little cool. But I don’t want to gloat. I would never insult the recently unemployed.”

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Morris entered a battle of wits and words with the recently terminated Fox News host when he called her a “lunatic” and a “fake country music singer” during his interview with Brittany Aldean, wife to fellow country musician Jason Aldean, last August. 

Morris must have heard that the library is open because she read for filth! But this isn’t the first time (and probably won’t be the last time) that Morris has called conservatives and anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment. 

Morris, a five-time Country Music Association award winner, had previously called out Aldean’s transphobic comments against parents who seek gender-affirming care for their children. In a post on Instagram, Aldean stated “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.”

To which Morris commented on the post with, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”

After Aldean’s interview with Carlson, Morris sold merch with the phrase “Lunatic Country Music Person”, ultimately raising over $100,000 for GLAAD last year. 

But an ally’s job is never over: Earlier this year, Morris took to TV and the stage to call out homophobia, transphobia, and anti-drag sentiment. In January, Morris appeared on Drag Race as a judge on season 15. During the show’s behind-the-scenes segment called Untucked, Morris called out the anti-LGBTQ+ stance in country music and thanking the drag artists for making her “feel like a brave voice in country music.”

“Coming from country music and its relationship with LGBTQ+ members, I just want to say I’m sorry,” Morris said in the clip shared on the show’s Instagram page. “I love you guys for making me feel like a brave voice in country music. So I just thank you guys so much for inspiring me.”

The singer also recently performed at Tennessee’s Love Rising benefit concert created in direct opposition of the Volunteer State’s anti-drag and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee’s now-blocked drag ban considers drag an “adult cabaret performance” and performances of this nature on public property or in front of minors is considered a criminal offense. When Morris took to the stage, she not only performed with drag artists, but dared local law enforcement to arrest her for introducing her 2-year-old son to drag queens. Along with Morris, Hayley Williams of Paramore, Hozier, Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes and more performed to raise awareness of the heinous legislation and raise funds for local LGBTQ+ nonprofits. Morris is a badass, country music superstar, but she’s also an ally to the LGBTQ+ community in every sense of the word. 

“You open up yourself and your sound to a much larger audience even if you lose some along the way,” stated Morris in her speech. “The crowds at my shows are a sea of diversity, from race, identity to age. It is a loving, safe space for my band, crew, venue staff and most notably, my fans. This community stood up for me and made me feel safe when I felt alone and I’ll never be able to repay them, but I hope I get to spend the rest of my life and career settling up.”

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