Maren Morris has revealed she is leaving country music due to the “homophobia and transphobia” in the industry.
The Texas singer has been an outspoken advocate for LGBTQ+ rights in the country music scene since the beginning of her career. She appeared as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race and apologized for country music’s historically poor relationship with its queer fans.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Morris spoke about her attempts to “burn.” [county music] “fall on the floor and start over” to make the genre more progressive and inclusive. She reflected on how her attempts hadn’t worked and “decided to get out there.”
“The further you get into the country music business, the more you see the cracks, and once you see them, you can’t unsee them. So you start doing whatever you can with what little energy you have to make things better,” she said.
She continued: “After the Trump years, people’s prejudices were clearly visible. It just showed who people really were and that they prided themselves on being misogynistic, racist, homophobic and transphobic. All of those things were celebrated and it was strangely fitting for this hyper-masculine branch of country music.”
The country music industry has been full of controversy. Earlier this year, Jason Aldean’s number one hit “Try That In A Small Town” sparked intense criticism over the song’s true message. The music video and song have given many the impression that they promote racism and gun violence.
Lyrics like: “If you cross that line, it won’t last long. To help you find out, I recommend you don’t do it. / Try that in a small town” and “Got a gun my grandfather gave me / They “Let’s say one day they get rounded up / Well that shit might fly around town, good luck” left many with them raised eyebrows.
The singer also quietly removed Black Lives Matter (BLM) protest footage from the music video for the track.
As TMZ reports, the video for the country singer’s track is six seconds shorter compared to the original upload. The short missing clip is footage of a BLM rally in Georgia projected onto a Tennessee courthouse where a black teenager was lynched in 1927. The original clip was filmed by Fox 5 Atlanta.
According to Consequence of Sound, Aldean previously claimed that there was “not a single video clip in the “Try That In A Small Town” video that wasn’t real news footage.”
Morris actually had a falling out with Aldean’s wife Brittany after she posted comments on her Instagram Stories in 2022 that were condemned as anti-trans.
“Advocating child genital mutilation under the guise of love and calling it ‘gender-affirming care’ is one of the worst evils. “I will always support my children and do what I can to protect their innocence,” Brittany Aldean wrote on her social media.
Morris responded with a tweet that read: “It’s so easy not to be a dirty person? Sell your clip-ins and zip up, Insurrection Barbie.”
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Morris wrote that the “drama within the community” and country music’s use as a “really toxic weapon in culture wars” led her to withdraw from the industry entirely.
Additionally, in her latest episode, “The Bridge,” Morris collaborated with producer and Bleachers frontman Jack Antonoff, who played a crucial role in helping Taylor Swift transition from country darling to pop star.