Maren Morris has the Chicks to thank for sparking her push against the country music genre’s status quo.
The Grammy Award-winning artist opened up about how the country group — who famously denounced former President George W. Bush and the Iraq war in 2003 — lit a social justice fire under her at a young age.
“I saw these beloved superstars and heroes of mine get completely disenfranchised within their own genre,” Morris told Variety in a new profile published Wednesday. “I think that’s probably where it started for me, and I guess I never shook it off.”
The “Tree” crooner also shot down claims that she’s completely leaving Nashville and the country music industry to become a “pop star.” Morris previously told the Los Angeles Times she couldn’t stay in a genre that she felt did not align with her political and social beliefs.
“Obviously no — like, that’s hilarious,” she told the outlet, later adding, “I don’t think of myself as this badass or anything; I just got so sick of being a ‘yes’ person to get ahead. I’ve been successful, but — I think — at a moral cost. I couldn’t keep doing the same song and dance.”
Morris has long been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and has not shied away from publicly criticizing controversial artists in country music — including Jason Aldean and his “Try That in a Small Town” song and video. She also previously called out his wife, Brittany Aldean, for making what many viewed as transphobic comments on social media.
The Girl artist went on to explain to Variety that her approach to changing the industry isn’t a recent undertaking, but something she’s been working toward for a long time.
“We’ve been trying to figure out who can actually make the genre evolve for years,” she continued. “Is it labels? Is it streaming platforms? Is it publishers? Is it writers? Who’s truly at the top? Feelings aside, I look at the facts — and the fact is, the country chart is worse [for women and minorities] than it was a decade ago. Whether I said sh– or not, it got worse.”