Maren Morris in Hollywood in December 2023.Photo:Frazer Harrison/Variety via Getty Images
Frazer Harrison/Variety via Getty Images
Maren Morrisisn’t the only one who received death threats after calling outMorgan Wallenforusing a racial slur.
During the Thursday, Aug. 29 episode ofSophia Bush’sWork in Progresspodcast, the Grammy winner, 34, opened up about how in addition to the hate she experienced after speaking out against the “Last Night” singer in February 2021, her son, Hayes Andrew, 4, received death threats as well.
“I mean, the death threat portion for me as a young mother was, yeah, obviously, like, scary,” said Morris. “And it wasn’t death threats against me. It was against my son, too. So it’s like, ‘Oh, wow. Now we’re involving the kids, the ones that you cared so much about.'”
Maren Morris in New York City in May 2023.Taylor Hill/WireImage
Taylor Hill/WireImage
The “Cut!” singer says she’s contemplated for years how people could be “this pissed” over “the criticism of cruelty”
“I think it’s because they’re not only, like, defending the person that said this, but they are taking it personally as if I’m criticizing them, which I think says, you know, a lot more about their interpretation of criticism and what that content was than me as a person calling out someone using the N-word. Or even transphobia that I’ve criticized in the past that sort of, like, exploded in another wave,” Morris said.She noted that as “a peer” in the music industry, she was encouraging Wallen, 31, and the music industry to “do better.”
Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Morgan Wallen in Nashville in November 2022.Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
Taylor Hill/FilmMagic
In February 2021, Wallen was captured using the N-word in a video, which prompted the country community — including Morris,Mickey GuytonandKelsea Ballerini— to react to his use of the racial slur.
Ballerini, 30, tweeted at the time that “the news out of Nashville tonight does not represent country music.” Others, however, including Morris, disagreed.
“It actually IS representative of our town because this isn’t his first ‘scuffle’ and he just demolished a huge streaming record last month regardless,” she tweeted. “We all know it wasn’t his first time using that word. We keep them rich and protected at all costs with no recourse.”
source: people.com