Maren Morris recalled facing intense after speaking out against Morgan Wallen’s use of the N-word, claiming that her son, Hayes, even received death threats.
“That sucked,” Morris, 33, said during the Wednesday, October 4, episode of The New York Times’ “Popcast” podcast. “Not because I regret what I said, because I absolutely don’t, it needed to be condemned publicly by peers.”
Wallen, now 30, was filmed saying the racial slur during a night out in Nashville in 2021, something he has since apologized for. When the video went public, Morris was quick to hit back in a social media post.
“It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first ‘scuffle’ and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless. We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word,” she shared via X (formerly Twitter) at the time. “We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.”
The aftermath of the scandal caused a lot of “pain” in Morris’ life, she said during Wednesday’s podcast episode.
“I’m not talking about the slur, because how would I know what that feels like? I’m white,” she clarified. “For me, the fallout … the death threats. Not just against me, but against my son. Could never have fathomed it would go there just off of criticizing a racial slur.”
Morris, who welcomed Hayes with husband Ryan Hurd in March 2020, said that she “didn’t realize” that she had “lit a fuse” with her clapback.
“I underestimated, like I have a lot, the power of the town and also every broken thing about it, and how it protects itself no matter what,” she said, referring to Nashville and the country industry. “It’s very historically accurate for that reaction to happen that way.”
The “Girl” singer also joked that she “predicted the future” by saying that Wallen would be “protected.” While Wallen’s music was briefly removed from country radio and he was suspended from his music label, his success didn’t waver. He is even set to headline the 2024 Stagecoach music festival.
Morris said that the public’s strong reaction to her statement about Wallen felt like a “warning shot.” She’s since revealed her plans to distance herself from the country music community.
“The other s–ty downside of saying what you believe [is] the friends that you thought were friends that you lose,” she shared on the “Popcast” podcast. “That are your writing peers or artist peers, a few that I’ve gotten into public arguments with that have at one point offered me slots on their tour.”
One year after condemning Wallen’s hate speech in 2021, Morris got into a public feud with Jason Aldean and his wife, Brittany Aldean, over gender-affirming care for trans youth.
“[I’m] not afraid to hold people accountable but I also — especially in the last year — don’t feel like that’s my crown to wear every f—king time,” Morris said. “Not that I want anyone else to endure what I’ve gone through. I’m so ready to go elsewhere and look at the light and bring the people who want to come along with me.”
