Maren Morris Says No One Is Friendly In Country Music Anymore: “It’s Been Very Dicey At These Award Shows”

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I mean, when you spend your life insulting and looking down on everybody in country music…

Maren Morris is currently in a new era of her career after announcing back in 2023 that she was leaving country music while calling it a “toxic institution”, then backtracking and saying she was never leaving country and that it was “clickbait.”

All of this came after Maren has been involved in quite a bit of drama with others in country music over the years, most notably her feud with Brittany Aldean a few years ago.

Back in 2022, the wife of Jason Aldean had posted a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post thanking her mom for not changing her gender when she went through her tomboy phase, and Maren decided to insert herself, insulting Brittany for her job and telling her to “zip it” while calling her “Insurrection Barbie” over her support of President Donald Trump.

It’s far from the first time Maren has called out those in her own genre. In 2021, Maren accused the industry of protecting white men like Morgan Wallen following his racial slur controversy, and in early 2023 she apologized on behalf of country music for the genre’s treatment of LGBTQ+ people, which rubbed some of her fellow artists the wrong way.

She’s also compared country music to “an abusive relationship” and says she feels like the “hall monitor.”

“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.”

Then there was the whole saga surrounding her leaving country music. At the time, she called it a “toxic institution” that was “burning itself down.”

“I don’t want to say goodbye, but I really cannot participate in the really toxic arms of this institution anymore. I couldn’t do this sort of circus anymore, feeling like I had to absorb or explain people’s bad behavior. And you know, laugh it off.” 

So yeah, you can probably see why she rubbed people the wrong way with the way, not even with her politics but with the way she talked about country music.

But for some reason, Maren is apparently shocked that people in country music aren’t friendly to her anymore…

In a long diatribe posted to her TikTok, the pop singer responded to a fan comment about finding “the right” audience, and once again decided to blast the country music industry as a bunch of hateful Trump supporters.

“My first album, Hero, with my church, it came out in June of 2016, and Trump won in November of 2016. So my entire success of my first record was under this first year of Trump’s reign. So weirdly, everything felt very political. Even though no one cared that much before, this was a very big year for us all to be blindsided of his win. So the last 10 years of my career have been under this Trump presidency, Biden, then Trump again. And it’s been quite interesting to see the country music space become very politicized.”

Honestly, it’s pretty rich of Maren to complain about country music becoming too politicized. When you think of “political” voices in country music, Maren is one of a handful of names at the top of the list. Nobody is making her speak out about politics. If she feels like it’s the right thing to do and something she wants to do, great, but there are plenty of artists who have long, successful careers without ever revealing their political affiliation to fans. You can’t choose to use your platform to speak on politics (which, again, is 100% her right to do) but then complain that it’s too political.

She also again complains about the atmosphere in Nashville and in the country music industry:

“It’s really heartbreaking because I love my Texas roots. I love country music. I love Nashville. I live there. I’ve not lived anywhere else in the last 13 years. But it’s been very hot. Like no one is very friendly. Some people are cool, but it’s been very dicey at these award shows and s—. And I don’t really go to them anymore, but it’s been very heated.”

Again, do you think it has to do with the fact that you’ve insulted the genre as a bunch of racist homophobes and called the institution “toxic?” I can see why people might not be as friendly when you’re constantly bashing them publicly…

Then, without an ounce of self-awareness, Maren goes on to say that it’s impossible to make country music without being political – after bashing the industry for becoming too political:

“You cannot be a full songwriter and reflect reality and life through song without being political. Like, I’m sorry, it is what it is. That’s John Prine, babe. And I try to be kind. I try to be benevolent. But there are people and energies in the sphere of my work the last few years that have really put me off. So I’ve stepped away in certain facets, but I still love country music, obviously.”

It seems like she loves country music like OJ loved Nicole…

Maren goes on to say that she’s lost friends and family members over the years, but that she doesn’t regret speaking out on what she believes in. And again, that’s 100% her right to do – but when you continue to insult those people for their own beliefs because they don’t align with yours, you can’t then be surprised that they don’t want to be friendly with you either.

And I already know what her response would be: I’m just speaking up for what’s right and speaking out against hate. And that’s the problem with politics today: Anything you say is right and anything you don’t like is hate speech.

Maybe, just maybe, it’s more nuanced than that, and those with different beliefs AREN’T terrible people just because they feel differently than you.

Maybe that institution you’re calling “toxic” isn’t as “hateful” as you think, and just doesn’t like being constantly insulted by your moral superiority disguised as righteousness.