Chris Stapleton Says Black Lives 'Absolutely' Matter

Chris Stapleton shared his thoughts on the Black Lives Matter movement in a new interview with CBS This Morning, stating he "absolutely" believes that Black lives matter. "Do I think Black lives matter?" Stapleton said when asked whether he supports the movement. "Absolutely...I don't know how you could think they don't."

The 42-year-old shared that he was affected by the country-wide protests following the death of George Floyd earlier this year, noting that there has been a "broad awakening" in the United States. "I think everybody should be doing more. It's time for me to listen. And it's time for other folks to listen," he said, adding how he "thought we were living in a different country" amid the ongoing unrest.

"And that's 100% real," Stapleton said. "I feel like the country that I thought that we were living in was a myth. [...] I think we all have a lot of work to do, you know, as individuals and as a society. And if you don't think that, I think you're not looking."

Stapleton also opened up about his personal experience this year, which has found him at his home outside of Nashville with his wife, Morgane, and their five children. "There's good days and bad days," he said. "If anybody tells you that they haven't reached a near breaking point mentally in these times, I think they're probably lying to you." In April, Stapleton asked his wife for a bike for his birthday and has been riding in the woods, which he says "helped tremendously, in a centering kinda way."

He's also been preparing to launch his new album, Starting Over, which will be released in November. Stapleton shared the album's title track as its lead single last week, admitting that he "of course" had doubts about releasing music during a pandemic. "I think everybody has doubts about everything they're doing in every moment right now," he said. Recording for Starting Over was completed just before the pandemic hit and was mostly done at RCA Studio A in Nashville.

"Recording to me is, you're trying to capture magic, you know, as much as you can… the magic of a moment," the Grammy winner shared, adding that he hopes to be able to continue his career for many years. "We all hope for that Willie Nelson career where we're, you know, 85 or 86, and we can go play as much as or as little as we want to. I think if I am able to walk out on stage and hold a guitar when I'm 85, I think that's probably gonna happen."