'Uncomfortable' Maren Morris may skip CMAs after trans row with Brittany Aldean
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE: Despite being nominated for an album of the year award, Maren Morris is still unsure about her presence at the 56th CMA Awards on November 10 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
The ‘Bones’ singer said that she "does not feel very comfortable attending the annual award show in person." The comment from the singer came in the wake of her dispute with Jason Aldean’s wife Brittany Aldean over a "transphobic" social media post.
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“I’m very honored that my record ('Humble Quest') is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now,” Morris told the Los Angeles Times. “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 added.
She continued, "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."
The comment from Morris came a few weeks after she publically criticized Brittany for making a transphobic comment in an Instagram post amid the ongoing restrict access to gender-affirming care debate.
"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. “Lmao!! Im glad they didn’t too, cause you and I wouldn’t have worked out,” her husband responded within her comments section.
Slamming Brittany for the comment, the 33-year-old singer took to her Twitter handle and wrote, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.” Brittaney then responded to Morris saying “Karen Morris. Thanks for calling me Barbie.” Not just by Morris, but the couple even got criticized by Jason’s PR team, which ended their 17-year-old ties with the singer after users deemed Brittaney’s comment as transphobic.
The dispute blew up after Brittany appeared on Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, where Carlson branded Morris as a "lunatic country music person." However, instead of being bogged down by the comment, Morris printed the phrase on her merchandise and sold it to her fans. Ultimately, she managed to raise more than $150,000 for the Trans Lifeline and GLAAD's Transgender Media Program.
In her interview, Morris was asked if she regretted saying anything to Brittney, she said, “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,” she responded. “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."
The CMA awards will air on November 9 at 8 pm ET on ABC.