Maren Morris doubles down on her mission to make country music a more inclusive genre for LGBTQ artists and their fans.
The Texas-born singer-songwriter appeared on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” as a guest judge last week, where she apologized to the show’s contestants backstage about Nashville’s apparent reluctance to embrace the LGBTQ community.
“Coming from country music and its relationship to LGBTQ+ people, I just want to say I’m sorry,” Morris said, as seen in a clip shared on the official “Drag Race” Instagram account. “I love you guys for giving me a brave voice in country music. So thank you very much for inspiring me.”
The visibly emotional musician then added: “I’m about to cry.”
Last year, Morris was embroiled in a social media scandal after calling out Brittany Aldean, wife of country artist Jason Aldean, over comments directed at parents of transgender children. The stock exchange prompted Fox News host Tucker Carlson to label Morris a “country music freak.”
Carlson’s attempt to insult her, however, backfired spectacularly when Morris began selling T-shirts with the remark as a fundraiser for Trans Lifeline and the GLAAD Transgender Media Program. she seems to have grown over $100,000 for the two advocacy groups.
Given the ubiquity of “bro-country,” loosely defined by Rolling Stone as “the explosion of songs about trucks, beer, and women,” it’s perhaps not surprising that country is still generally seen as a conservative genre compared to rock and roll . .pop.
However, there have been recent signs of gradual change. In 2021, TJ Osborne of the country duo Brothers Osborne became the first openly gay artist to be signed to a major label, EMI Records Nashville. Last year, the Osborne brothers won their first Grammy for “Younger Me,” a song inspired by TJ’s training experiences.
