Maren Morris made history on Saturday night in New York when she became the first country music artist to receive GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award.
At the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, the Grammy-winning performer was honored by Cynthia Lee Fontaine and Alyssa Edwards.
“I felt a little badass against Tucker Carlson for calling me crazy for standing up to transphobia,” Morris told the crowd as he held up his trophy. “Maybe I felt a little cool. But I don’t want to brag. I would never insult the recently unemployed.
The ballroom at the New York Hilton Midtown erupted in boos and loud applause that made the “My Church” singer stop and smile.
The LGBTQ+ supporter had a war of words with the recently fired Fox News personality when he called her “crazy” and a “fake country music singer” during an interview with Brittany Aldean in August.
Country music singer Jason Aldean’s wife had publicly expressed her thoughts against parents who practice gender-affirming care during a social media post, saying, “I would really like to thank my parents for not having changed my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girl life.
Morris responded to this in a comment string on Instagram. “Is it so easy not to be a human bastard?” Sell your clips and compress them, Barbie Insurgency,” Morris wrote.
The skirmish was just one moment of Morris’ continued support for the LGBTQ+ community. While continuing his speech at the annual ceremony, Morris urged his “other country music artists to understand the power of inclusivity.”
“You open up and open your sound to a much wider audience, even if you lose some along the way,” she said. “The crowds at my shows are a sea of diversity, from race, identity to age. It’s a loving and safe space for my band, my team, the venue staff, and most especially, my fans. This community stood up for me and made me feel safe when I felt lonely and I can never repay them, but I hope I can spend the rest of my life and career settling down.
Karine Jean-Pierre and Harvey Guillén at the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards held at the New York Hilton Midtown on May 13, 2023 in New York City.
Nina Westervelt for Variety
Other distinguished winners were also celebrated at the gala dinner, hosted by the world’s largest advocacy organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer media.
“What We Do in the Shadows” star Harvey Guillén hosted the evening. Jonathan Van Ness also won GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award as the first non-binary recipient to receive the title.
The influential event featured empowering speeches as well as a special performance by Idina Menzel, who sang her world debut of “Move” in front of notable presenters and attendees, including GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate. Ellis, Bob the Drag Queen, Brooke Eden, James T. Lane, Frankie Grande, Bowen Yang, Joel Kim Booster, Christian Siriano, Trixie Mattel, Tamron Hall, Chris Perfett and Montana State Representative Zooey Zephyr.
Idina Menzel at the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards held at the New York Hilton Midtown on May 13, 2023 in New York City.
Nina Westervelt for Variety
“Fire Island”, “Anything’s Possible”, “Heartstopper” and “We’re Here” won the night’s top awards in film and television. “The Trouble with Jon Stewart” received the award for Outstanding Variety or Talk Show Episode, but Stewart was noticeably absent at the ceremony.
“Jon is a member of the WGA. He would be here otherwise,” GLAAD Director of Transgender Representation Alex Schmider told the audience while accepting the award on his behalf. “GLAAD, of course, stands with Jon and all the WGA writers. Fair pay, fair working conditions, and queer representation in writers’ rooms are urgent and necessary issues facing this industry.
Karine Jean-Pierre, White House press secretary, also stood in solidarity with Hollywood workers: “Nights like these are reminders of the stories and the importance of treating storytellers with dignity, respect and the value they deserve. I sincerely hope that the writers’ strike will be resolved and that writers will get the fair treatment they deserve.
Joel Kim Booster and the cast and creators of ‘Fire Island’ at the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards held at the New York Hilton Midtown on May 13, 2023 in New York City.
Nina Westervelt for Variety
The importance of mutual respect shared across different industries was the theme of the evening that all GLAAD Media Awards attendees addressed.
“I keep smiling because there’s so much joy here and love. I think we had to overcome so much to get this joy to come out,” actor Colman Domingo said. Variety on the red carpet earlier in the evening. “It’s like 1,000 disco balls. That’s how it feels tonight.