Photo: Getty Images
Maren Morris debuted an iconic “Willie meets Wednesday” look as she posed with a group of drag stars and spoke with them about LGBTQ+ representation and the response to drag ban legislation in states across the U.S.
The group — including Morris, Eureka O’Hara, Landon Cider, Sasha Colby and Symone — spoke in L.A. about why the show must go on, per Billboard, which published the interview on Wednesday (June 7). Morris gushed over the photos as she shared them on her social media channels, including a TikTok set to “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys,” by Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Morris wrote in her caption on Instagram: “Don’t be a drag, just be a… king? Happy Pride month, y’all. 🌈💕”
“I have heard the term ‘Shut up and sing’ more times than I can count — that’s always the cutesy little threat that they like to make,” Morris said during the Billboard conversation, when Cider asked her how she would encourage her peers to use their platforms as allies. “So I would say to my peers who are artists and to record-label heads, publishers, songwriters: I don’t think any of us got into this art form to be an activist, but that’s ultimately thrust upon you to exist in this space and to feel like you can sleep at night. You’re going to lose fans along the way — that is just part and parcel of being public-facing. But there is a lane that you’re widening; I see it year over year at my shows, the crowd feels so diverse and so safe. I know everyone likes money, but is it worth your biography saying that you never picked a side because both sides pay money to buy a T-shirt?”
Morris has long defined herself as an ally, including earlier this year when she and other artists came together for an all-star benefit concert at Bridgestone Arena in Downtown Nashville, Tennessee. LOVE RISING: A benefit concert and celebration of Life and Liberty — which also included Sheryl Crow, Hayley Williams and other artists — benefitted the Tennessee Equality Project, Inclusion Tennessee, Out Memphis and The Tennessee Pride Chamber in partnership with the Looking Out Foundation.
During that event, Morris opted to wear a suit “to demonstrate the subjectivity of drag and gender expression. There’s a reason we feel powerful in a suit, but why? Is it our tinges of both feminine and masculine being on public display? Is it just more comfortable than a dress? Or is it just hot and makes you feel like a damn superhero? The answer is ‘all over the above,’ and also ‘who cares? Do you.’”
See Morris’ posts about her recent conversation with the drag stars — including her Nelson- and Wednesday Addams-inspired wardrobe — below (Billboard couldn’t resist asking the “On The Road Again” legend about Morris’ look on Instagram, and Nelson replied: “was wondering where that outfit went”). Read the full interview here.