Maren Morris defends taking her toddler to a 'family friendly' drag show: 'Completely harmless'
Last year, country singer Maren Morris made headlines for suggesting Tennessee should "f---ing arrest" her after introducing her young son to drag queens at an LGBTQ+ benefit concert. At the time, the state had just approved legislation that would ban drag shows close to schools.
In a recent interview on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," Morris defended that decision. Subjected to severe criticism, Morris says the drag show her son attended was "family friendly."
"We were doing a benefit at Bridgestone last year when they were doing the drag ban in Tennessee," she recounted. "There were drag queens like throughout, entertaining as well, and one actually danced with me when I was singing my song, ‘The Middle.’ And it was just amazing and fun."
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"My son loves watching me, like sit in the makeup chair and just is like fascinated with the colors … it was just like completely harmless," she said of the introduction.
"But I think it's just such an amazing expression of artistry, and so I just think like normalizing it and making it seem like these are just people that love dressing up, too, is an amazing thing," she added. "It was an all-ages show so, it was completely family-friendly."
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At the event, Morris famously told the crowd, according to Variety, "I brought my son here earlier today for soundcheck, and he’s turning three this week, and we got to go in the room where all the queens were getting ready and doing their makeup. And he freaked out when he went in there, because it’s just magic what drag queens do."
"There’s wigs everywhere, and the smell of hairspray and wig glue; there’s glitter; everyone’s in a good mood. It’s just like a room of love. . . . And yes, I introduced my son to some drag queens today, so Tennessee, f---ing arrest me."
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The Texas native, who shares Hayes, four, with ex-husband Ryan Hurd, told Clarkson it was important to her that he see his mother championing the drag queens.
"I never set out to be this activist or advocate," Morris prefaced. After her debut single, "My Church," was released in 2016 and criticized, Morris ascertained that she could "never win" with people, "even if it feels harmless."
"It crystallized when I became a mother . . . I want to be able to do music forever, but I want to do it on my terms. And if it costs me fans by standing up for people that truly need all of the megaphoning, I am okay with you, like, not being at the show," she admitted.