It all started when Brittany Aldean, wife of country star Jason Aldean, posted a makeup video to Instagram to the tune of a Beyoncé song, and an unrelated caption reading: “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.”
Her husband commented, “Lmao!! Im glad they didn’t too, cause you and I wouldn’t have worked out.” Lara Trump, wife of Eric Trump, left her a comment with two emojis with heart-shaped eyes.
Many commenters took offense at the post, calling Aldean out for what they deemed an unnecessary dig at the transgender community. One of them was musician Cassadee Pope, winner of Season 3 of The Voice.
“You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging,” Pope tweeted on Friday. “But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.”
But because Aldean’s stance wasn’t entirely clear, she took to Instagram stories to clear up any confusion.
"Advocating for the genital mutilation of children under the disguise of love and calling it 'gender affirming care' is one of the worst evils," Aldean wrote. "The other day [my son] Memphis wanted to be a dinosaur, and tomorrow [my daughter] Navy will want to be a cat. They’re children.
"Some parents want to be accepted by society so badly, that they’re wiling to make life-altering decisions for their children who aren’t old enough to fully comprehend the consequences of those actions," she added.
And then came the first canon shot, fired by North Texas’ own Grammy-winning country queen Maren Morris, who retweeted Pope and added: “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”
It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) August 26, 2022
On Jan. 6, Aldean had shared a post to Instagram suggesting that the election deniers who raided the Capitol were actually supporters of Antifa.
Morris was having none of it back then, either, and tweeted at the time: “ ... how do some singer’s wives conveniently not know the difference between marching for racial injustice and Nazis breaching our Capitol because their guy didn’t win?"
But Aldean didn’t seem to be bothered to be compared to a piece of plastic with eyelashes.
“Karen Morris, thanks for calling me Barbie,” Alden wrote, with a kiss emoji.
Morris, agent of chaos, also took to Pope's Instagram comments to expand on her views on Aldean's post.
“You know, I’m glad she didn’t become a boy either because we really don’t need another asshole dude in the world," Morris wrote. "Sucks when Karens try to hide their homophobia/transphobia behind their ‘protectiveness of the children.’ Weren’t they putting their kids in ‘Biden-is-a-pedo’ shirts on social media? Sounds like a real safe way to protect them from millions of eyes! Fuck all the way off to Insurrection Barbie and the fellow IB’s ["inspired by" followers] trolling this comment section with their hypocritical, hateful asses.”
And whenever there’s a whistle blow to conservatives, who should be the first to hear it but first responder Candace Owens? You can be sure that if there’s a liberal-versus-conservative feud somewhere, Owens will march in riding that elephant, red-hatted and shouting about the right to remain obtuse.
The political commentator inserted herself into the conversation by responding to Morris with, "It's easier to not castrate your children. But I guess whatever helps sell bad records."
As noted by The Washington Post, current medical guidelines dictate that gender-affirming surgery shouldn't be performed on minors under the age of 18.
Morris responded to Owens with a tweet that read, “Oh my god, not you. My Grammy is positively sobbing right now. Also, why do y’all always go to ‘castration’ and ‘pedophiles’ to try and shut an argument down? It’s honestly concerning and worth looking into.”
Oh my god, not you. My Grammy is positively sobbing right now. Also, why do y’all always go to “castration” and “pedophiles” to try and shut an argument down? It’s honestly concerning and worth looking into.
— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) August 26, 2022
Owens shot back with: “You sound like a 15-year-old girl on Tik-Tok. You are in your 30s. Grow up.” And followed up with: “When you chop a penis off, it is the literal definition of castration … Also, I said groomers — not pedophiles. Got something else on your mind you want to share with the class, sicko?”
Never to be outdone by a woman of color, Tomi Lahren entered the chat with a link from an account called "Gays Against Groomers."White straight Libs think they represent the LGBT community simply because they pander to it! WRONG-O! @againstgrmrs calls out @MarenMorris for her pathetic shot at @BrittanyAldean https://t.co/DN15NHCovr
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) August 30, 2022
Perez Hilton agreed with Morris, tweeting: “Where is the castration of children happen[ing]? Because I don’t know any doctors that perform that gender-affirmation surgery on minors in America."
And as the stars seemed to align on opposite sides of the Mason-Dixon line, the husbands entered the fight.
Singer Ryan Hurd, Morris' husband, tweeted on Aug. 27: "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 … Shut up and sing only applies to those who you disagree with."
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.
— Ryan Hurd (@RyanHurd) August 27, 2022
In the same thread, Hurd added, "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 fucking fine, and I promise she isn’t going to shut up now.”
In April 2021, the American Medical Association released a letter urging members of the National Governors Association to oppose legislative measures that could limit the options of physicians when treating trans patients, citing evidence that a lack of gender-affirming care could aggravate the risk of anxiety, substance abuse and suicide among transgender individuals.
In response to Morris' tweets and posts, LGBTQ icon Jonathan Van Ness tweeted: "Love to see ally’s & to be clear intersex kids which make up at least 2% of all kids face genital mutilation to enforce cisgender norms everyday."
On Aug. 26, singer Brandi Carlisle tweeted, "Bravo @marenmorris. It’s when you selflessly bear another’s burden that you actually reflect gods love. Way to not tolerate disgusting behavior."
Of course, non-famous bystanders had plenty to add, too.
Maren Morris has a lot of nerve to make fun of Brittney Aldean’s hair clip-ins. Girl looks like a Walmart Kardashian. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/7d7OSXVyjD
— Morgan Berner 🇺🇸🏴☠️ (@MorganBerner22) August 27, 2022
Jason Isbell posted that Morris was "doing the lord’s work tonight on Twitter dot com.”
And a confused Jason Aldean called his wife "MY Barbie," in an Instagram comment.
In the world of country music, however, the only way to settle a conflict is to appeal to a Supreme Justice, the honorable Dolly Parton, though she has yet to shut anyone down.
