When former country star Maren Morris announced that she would be abandoning her country music career due to what she perceived as racism and other intolerances from the genre’s fan base, many in Nashville were shocked. Now, as the dust has settled around the decision from Morris, country music fans are voicing their displeasure with the sweeping generalizations that she made about fans of country music.
Morris decided to leave country music following the Trump years, saying, “After the Trump years, people’s biases were on full display.” She claimed that those biases included “misogynistic and racist and homophobic and transphobic” leanings in the country music world.
She also said that she felt ostracized as a female in the genre, even though star singers like Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, and Taylor Swift have seen massive success in Nashville. She said, “being one of the few women that had any success on country radio, everything you do is looked at under a microscope. You’re scrutinized more than your male peers, even when you’re doing well.”
Fans on Twitter have been harsh about their opinions of Morris and the sweeping generalizations that she made about country music listeners. One former fan notes, “And all this time I thought music was for entertainment. I like music to brighten my mood or settle me down for sleep. I like the ways it sometimes pumps me up when I work out. Never have I ever thought about all the phobias mentioned in Maren’s rant when I listen to music.”
Another fan got straight to the point, saying, “These morons are blaming Trump for everything! Country music hasn’t been country music nor conservative for a long time.” Still another fan pointed out that there may be more behind this move than others have been noticing. They said, “I still don’t know who she is, I get the feeling many people aren’t sure either and that is the reason she is leaving.”
This theory might be the most practical of all the ideas as to why Morris has committed suicide to her country music career. She simply wasn’t going to reach the high level of fame and wealth that others, such as Dolly Parton, achieved from her singing and songwriting.
If that is the case, then the mission was accomplished. Morris is now all over the news, and she has become as much of a polarizing figure as Nashville has seen in years. The utter disdain that many country fans feel toward Marren Morris, for good reason, may very well propel her career into a new stratosphere of success and fame.
It’s a shame to admit it, but this foray into calling conservatives evil-doers in the way that so many Hollywood stars have in the past may be the best move that her career has ever seen. This will certainly be an inflection point in her singing career. When all is said and done for Maren Morris, this moment will be the one that defines it all.
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