Country music star Maren Morris she’s coming to stand up for herself as a woman in a male-dominated industry.
“The choices I’ve made over the years, being a woman in music, especially country music, over the years are very calculated,” Morris, 35, said in a video shared through TikTok on Friday, January 9. “I had a lot of success in country music. I put out my first song, ‘My Church,’ and it ended up f***ing on country radio and it never went to No. 1, but it was really big at the time. I got a Grammy for it.”
He continued: “I was having, like, the best year of my life professionally, huh, but I was also starting to see my first album, herowith “My Church”, it came out in June 2016 and (Donald) Trump he won in November of 2016. So all of my success, like my first record, was during this first year of Trump’s reign. So, strangely, it all seemed very political, even though nobody really cared that much before.”
Morris went on to explain that for the “last 10 years” of his career, he’s been navigating country music under the “Trump presidency, (former President Joe) Bidenthen Trump again,” explaining that “it’s been pretty interesting to see the country music space become so politicized.”
Maren Morris is making light of the headlines about her exit from country music, explaining that it’s “hyperbolic” to say she’s leaving the entire genre behind. “I felt like I didn’t want to say goodbye, but I really can’t participate any more in the really toxic arms of this institution,” Morris, 33, shared on Wednesday, October (…)
“And the last few years, I’ve definitely made moves during the Covid, post all of that: I’m divorced, now I’m a single mom, and I’m kind of, like, in my own weird musical space,” she added. “It’s really heartbreaking because I love my Texas roots, I love country music, I love Nashville — I live here (and) I haven’t lived anywhere else in the last 15 years, but it’s been really hot. Like, nobody’s very nice.”
Us Weekly confirmed in October 2023 that Morris filed for divorce of her then husband Ryan Hurd after five years of marriage. The country star cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the couple’s split in documents obtained by we. Before their split, the former couple welcomed their son, Hayes, in March 2020.
@marenmorris Responding to @Kevin Smith
While Morris said Friday that while “some people are great” in the country music scene, “it’s been really rough on these awards and shit,” adding, “I don’t really go there anymore, but it’s been really hot.”
“But you can’t be a complete songwriter and, you know, reflect reality and live the song without being political,” he continued. “Like, I’m sorry, it is what it is… I try to be kind, I try to be benevolent, but there are people and energies in my field of work over the last few years that have discouraged me. So I’ve drifted away in certain ways. But I still love country music.”
Morris then gave a shout-out to his loyal fan base before admitting he’s “lost a lot of fans over the years because of my views.” (Morris was involved in a highly publicized feud with Jason Aledon i On the side of Brittany in 2022, after Brittany made controversial comments about gender affirmation in care for trans youth.)
Cindy Ord/Getty Images for SiriusXM Maren Morris won’t be transitioning into the world of “pop” music anytime soon. “Obviously not, like, that’s hilarious,” Morris, 33, said of the potential pivot to pop stardom in a Tuesday, Nov. 28 interview with Variety honoring her as Changemaker of the Year. “I will not leave Dodge. I love (…)
“I think it’s fair,” Morris said of people choosing not to listen to his music because of their personal and political views. “If you don’t agree with me, you can’t enjoy my music because of my views, you’re totally allowed to.”
He continued, “But I’m only here for one iteration of revolution around the sun, a couple, and for that I feel like I’ve sacrificed a lot of my mental health, my financial situation, my family, just because I’m so deeply concerned and uncomfortable with the weird status quo of country music.”