In a big "when life hands you lemons" move, Maren Morris has turned a feud with another performer's wife and a slam by Fox News' Tucker Carlson into a lucrative fundraiser for transgender rights. People walks back the timeline, noting that Brittany Aldean, an influencer and the spouse of country singer Jason Aldean, recently criticized parents of transgender youth on social media, writing on Instagram, "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." That's when Morris and others like The Voice alum Cassedee Pope jumped into the fray, coming to the defense of their trans fans, per Deadline.
"You'd think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging," Pope wrote on Twitter, to which Morris replied: "It's so easy to, like, not be a s---bag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie." That, in turn, led Aldean to double down in an Instagram story—she called advocating for youth who sought gender-affirming care "one of the worst evils"—and for Carlson to book Aldean on his show, where Carlson called Morris a "lunatic." Morris reacted by first appropriating Carlson's insult and turning it into a joke—she put up a Friday tweet showing her "#NewProfilePic," complete with a fake Fox chyron that identified her as "Lunatic Country Music Person."
Then the 32-year-old singer decided to use Carlson's slam for a real cause. "ATTN LUNATICS," she wrote on Instagram over the weekend. "New shirt in the shop." Next to the caption Morris showed a black T-shirt with the words "Maren Morris: Lunatic Country Music Singer," along with the phone number for the Trans Lifeline. She noted that the proceeds from sales of the shirt would be split between that nonprofit and GLAAD's Transgender Media Program. A little over two hours later, Morris had an update. "$63K in 2 hours. Y'all are insane (or lunatics)," she wrote. And by the next morning: "Over $100K raised. Have a great Labor Day weekend, lunatics." A rep for GLAAD confirmed to People that more than $100,000 had come in thanks to Morris' efforts. (More Maren Morris stories.)
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