The 2017 CMA Awards take place in Nashville next week, and the genre’s biggest stars will spend time speaking to reporters on the red carpet and backstage during the annual event. In a preventative measure announced Thursday, the Country Music Association introduced a selection of off-limits topics, including the recent shooting at a country music festival in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead.
According to media guidelines issued for the show and reported by Rolling Stone, any journalist who asks an artist about hot-button topics like guns, politics or the Las Vegas shooting will be ejected from the event.
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“It’s vital, more so this year than in year’s [sic] past due to the sensitivities at hand, that the CMA Awards be a celebration of Country Music and the artists that make this genre so great,” the guidelines read.
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“It’s an evening to honor the outstanding achievements in Country Music of the previous year and we want everyone to feel comfortable talking to press about this exciting time. If you are reported as straying from these guidelines, your credential will be reviewed and potentially revoked via security escort.”
Country singers have historically stayed away from commenting on such divisive issues, but the Las Vegas tragedy has prompted some to speak out.
Brad Paisley, who serves as co-host of the annual awards show, shared his opinion about the new rule on Twitter Friday.
“I’m sure the CMA will do the right thing and rescind these ridiculous and unfair press guidelines,” he wrote. “In 3…2….1…..”
Singer Maren Morris also chimed in, tweeting, “Country music has always been about the truth. Out of respect for the Las Vegas victims, let’s keep it that way.”
The CMA Awards air on Nov. 8 live from Nashville.
Photo Credit: Getty / Taylor Hill
