Standing up for her beliefs. Maren Morris played an LGBTQ+ benefit show to combat Tennessee’s wave of anti-trans legislation — and she happily introduced her 2-year-old son, Hayes, to some of the event’s drag performers.
“Yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today,” the “My Church” songstress, 32, told the crowd at the Love Rising concert on Monday, March 20. “So, Tennessee, f–king arrest me.”
The country star shared a clip of the moment via Instagram on Tuesday, March 21, along with photos of herself performing with Allison Russell, Joy Oladokun and others at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“Love rose up,” the Grammy winner captioned her slideshow. “Thank you Nashville, the gorgeous Queens and the LGBTQ+ community for showing up last night. A HUGE thank you to @allisonrussellmusic, @aharnell + @nashvillehk for pulling off the unthinkable at Bridgestone. A lot of healing happened and it won’t be forgotten.”
Proceeds from the concert went to organizations including the Tennessee Equality Project, Inclusion Tennessee, Out Memphis and the Tennessee Pride Chamber. The state’s government has come under fire in recent weeks for passing a bill that restricts “adult cabaret performances” in public or in the presence of children and prohibits them from occurring within 1,000 feet of schools, public parks and places of worship.
A separate bill that passed earlier this month bans transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming care including hormones, puberty blockers and surgery.
Morris shares Hayes — who turns 3 on Thursday, March 23 — with husband Ryan Hurd. The Highwomen member has been outspoken about her support for LGBTQ+ rights. Last year, the “Circles Around This Town” singer made headlines for her feud with Brittany Aldean, who sparked controversy with her comments about transgender children.
“It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human?” Morris wrote in response to Aldean, 33, in August 2022. “Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”
The boutique owner later appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight to defend herself, saying in September 2022 that she was “extremely surprised” by the backlash to her remarks. Tucker Carlson, for his part, referred to Morris during the segment as a “lunatic country music person.”
After the show aired, the “Tall Guys” musician released a T-shirt that included Carlson’s epithet and the phone number for the Trans Lifeline crisis hotline. All proceeds from sales of the item were split between the Trans Lifeline and GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program. Less than one week later, GLAAD and Trans Lifeline announced that the shirt had raised more than $150,000 for their organizations.
