Maren Morris ended up attending this year’s CMA Awards despite her feud with Jason and Brittany Aldean. Even though she attended the event, she and her husband, Ruan Hurd, skipped the red carpet, per PEOPLE. Morris was nominated for Album of the Year for her latest release, Humble Quest.
Despite previously saying that she might be skipping the CMA Awards because of her feud with the Aldeans, Morris showed up at the event on Wednesday night. According to PEOPLE, she skipped the red carpet and showed up halfway through the show. After giving a standing ovation to Luke Combs, who walked away with the Album of the Year honor, she and Hurd left the venue. While she didn’t walk the red carpet or stick around for too long, Morris did share a look at her CMA Awards ensemble via Instagram.
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Months before the awards show, Morris said that she wasn’t sure that she was going to attend due to the drama between herself and the Aldeans. During an interview with the Los Angeles Times, she said that she did not necessarily feel “comfortable” going to the show amidst all of the drama. The singer explained, “I’m very honored that my record is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel home there right now. So many people I love will be in that room, and maybe I’ll make a game-time decision and go. But as of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going.”
This drama all began when Brittany posted a video on Instagram and related being in a tomboy phase to having gender identity issues. She captioned her video with, “I’d really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life.” This post prompted others, including Morris and Cassadee Pope, to speak out. Pope made a post about Brittany, telling her followers, “You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.” Morris agreed with Pope’s post and wrote, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”
Jason later defended his wife by referring to her as, “My Barbie.” Soon enough, Morris’ husband, Hurd, also commented on the drama. He tweeted, “Scoring quick points by picking on trans kids isn’t something that is brave at all. And I’m proud of Maren for sticking up for them. Badge of honor to have CO engage in completely normal discourse, too. Shut up and sing only applies to those who you disagree with.” Hurd continued, “Getting a lot of people telling me our career is over as if the last time she spoke up about something it disappeared. Honestly, we’re pretty ok over here. Tours are good, got a 2-year-old we love, we’re f-ing fine, and I promise she isn’t going to shut up now.”
