Cassadee Pope also joined the fray in a social media skirmish that pitted top Nashville figures against one another, after country superstar Jason Aldean’s wife posted a transphobic joke. “This isnโt political. Weโre calling someone out for being transphobic and thinking itโs hilarious. It isnโt,” wrote Morris.
Finally, itโs clear that thereโs one thing youโre even less likely to ever see at a show by country superstar Jason Aldean than a mask: a rainbow flag.
The country superstar and his wife Brittany Aldean have become increasingly outspoken as conservative activists, without too much commentary or pushback from more centrist or liberal-leaning country stars. But when Brittany Aldean posted what was widely viewed as a transphobic joke to her Instagram account, Cassadee Pope and then Maren Morris jumped in defend the LGBTQ+ community โ which then led to a war of words with another conservative Nashville celebrity, Candace Owens.
The exchanges got contentious enough that Morris said, presumably addressing Brittany Aldean: โItโs so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.โ Responded Brittany: โKaren Morris, thanks for calling me Barbie,โ which she sealed with a kiss emoji.
The fracas began with Brittany Aldean posting an Instagram video of herself glamming herself in the makeup chair, laughing, with a supposedly jocular caption: โIโd really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.โ (The soundtrack to the video, ironically, was โUpgrade U,โ a song by the highly trans-supportive Beyonce.)
Although the comment was quickly picked up and tweeted out by some more liberal country fans as offensive, on Aldeanโs IG account, where comments are limited, it picked up plenty of positive comments from supporters that clearly viewed the joke as political, like Donald Trumpโs daughter-in-law Lara Trump, as well as right-wing beauty influencer Amanda Ensing, country singers RaeLyn and Whitney Duncan, the wives of country singers Jon Pardi, Chuck Wicks and Granger Smith. Jason Aldean responded to his wife, as well: โLmao!! Im glad they didnโt too, cause you and I wouldnโt have worked out.โ
But Pope was not having it. Without naming or tagging the Aldeans, she tweeted: โYouโd think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their โtomboy phaseโ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.โMorris then replied with her support for Popeโs views. Thatโs when Owens, the conservative activist and talk show host who moved to Nashville a few years ago, jumped in, writing to Morris: โItโs easier to not castrate your children. But I guess whatever helps sell bad records.โ
โOh my god, not you,โ Morris replied to Owens. โMy Grammy is positively sobbing right now. Also, why do yโall always go to โcastrationโ and โpedophilesโ to try and shut an argument down? Itโs honestly concerning and worth looking into.โ Owens ramped up her counterattack, quoting back the Grammy remark and responding: โYou sound like a 15-year-old girl on Tik-Tok. You are in your 30s. Grow up.โ And: โWhen you chop a penis off, it is the literal definition of castrationโฆ Also, I said groomers โ not pedophiles. Got something else on your mind you want to share with the class, sicko?โ
Youโd think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their โtomboy phaseโ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.
— Cassadee Pope (@CassadeePope) August 26, 2022
The Aldeans are not active on Twitter, but Brittany did post an image of Morrisโ and Popeโs Twitter takedowns of her comment on her Instagram with the โKaren Morris, thanks for calling me Barbieโ caption.
Although most mainstream country performers stayed out of the argument, artists from other genres did speak up as well, like Joy Oladokun, a Black, gay Americana artist who has performed at the Grand Ole Opry. โWaking up happy that my parents didnโt raise me to be as rude and nasty as Brittany Aldean,โ Oladokun posted, flashing a peace sign and adding, โI also would like to say the LGBTQs have clearer skin without whatever she pushinโ.โ
This isnโt the first time the Aldeans have riled up non-rightward-leaning segments of the country community. On top of their Trump support, Jason Aldean all but declared his concerts mask-free zones as the pandemic began to wane, and the couple developed a clothing line that had their young children modeling โHidinโ From Bidenโ shirts.
Morris referenced the Aldeansโ politicized kidsโ clothing line in a response to an IG post of Popeโs. โYou know, Iโm glad she didnโt become a boy either because we really donโt need another asshole dude in the world,โ Morris wrote. โSucks when Karens try to hide their homophobia/transphobia behind their โprotectiveness of the children.โ Werenโt they putting their kids in โBiden-is-a-pedoโ shirts on social media? Sounds like a real safe way to protect them from millions of eyes! Fuck all the way off to Insurrection Barbie and the fellow IBโs trolling this comment section with their hypocritical, hateful asses.โ
Other country stars lined up to add their likes or supportive comments to Popeโs and Morrisโ posts, including Mickey Guyton, Meghan Linsey and top manager Jason Owen.
Popeโs latest IG post had her smiling in front of a London backdrop and writing: โPOV: Knowing you got under someoneโs skin you donโt like in the first place.โ
On Saturday, Morris responded to a tweet that essentially told her and Pope to keep their noses out of politics. โLots of confusing, public fighting & jabs in the CMA world right now between women over politics,โ wrote the original commenter, tagging the two singers. โThere are, from what weโve always known, enough obstacles for all the ladies in country music. Maybe put down the phone & focus on the guitar. Just sayinโ.โ Morris pointedly responded: โIf itโs confusing to you, itโs because you think weโre โfightingโ over politics. Weโre not. This isnโt political. Weโre calling someone out for being transphobic and thinking itโs hilarious. It isnโt.โ
Morrisโ husband, Ryan Hurd, a fellow country singer-songwriter, spoke up on on his account to agree with her Saturday โ and to say there were no regrets about being outspoken.
โScoring quick points by picking on trans kids isnโt something that is brave at all,โ Hurd wrote. โAnd Iโm proud of Maren for sticking up for themโฆ Shut up and sing only applies to those who you disagree withโฆ Getting a lot of people telling me our career is over, as if the last time she spoke up about something it disappeared. Honestly, weโre pretty ok over here. Tours are good, got a 2-year-old we love, weโre fucking fine, and I promise she isnโt going to shut up now.โ
In response to Morrisโ โInsurrection Barbieโ jab, meanwhile, Jason Aldean commented on his wifeโs IG page Saturday: โMY Barbie.โ RaeLynn also took up the pro-Barbie mantle, writing, โBARBIES RULE.โAnother conservative activist, Tomi Lahren, posted on Brittany Aldeanโs page Saturday: โThose girls are butt hurt that woke โcountryโ will never catch on and they canโt fill an arena (let alone a restaurant) with fans. We got you.โ
Morris is currently on tour through mid-October, with stops including an Oct. 13 show at the Hollywood Bowl.
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