Image Source: Getty / Axelle / Bauer-Griffin
Maren Morris is one person who’s celebrating Tucker Carlson’s exit from Fox News loudly and proudly. The news that Carlson and FOX were cutting ties and that his long-running show on the network, “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” would come to an end came down on Monday, April 25. Morris, who Carlson once dubbed a “lunatic country music person” on his show, did not hold back on her Instagram Story in response.
In one Instagram posted on Monday (via ET), she wrote, “Happy Monday, MotherTucker,” under a screenshot of the “Tucker Carlson Tonight” where the bottom third read, “LUNATIC COUNTRY MUSIC PERSON,” over a photo of Morris. In a second post, she shared a graphic that read, “The only Tuckers allowed are the drag queens.” In a final post, she shared a screenshot of a “Succession” meme poking fun at Tucker’s sacking which read, “Breaking: Tucker Carlson’s replacement has already been announced, effective immediately,” over a screenshot of Zoe Winters’s Kerry’s bombed audition to anchor a Waystar and RoyCo news program.
Image Source: Instagram user Maren Morris
Morris’s public bad blood with Carlson kicked off in 2022 after influencer Brittany Aldean, the wife of country singer Jason Aldean, shared a makeup-transformation Instagram Reel on Aug. 23, 2022, with the caption, “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.” Days later, on Aug. 26, 2022, country singer Cassadee Pope alluded to Aldean’s caption on Twitter: “You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.” Morris then replied, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie,” referring to Aldean’s line of hair extensions.
Morris elaborated on her stance in response to a now-deleted tweet, writing, “If it’s confusing to you, it’s because you think we’re ‘fighting’ over politics. We’re not. This isn’t political. We’re calling someone out for being transphobic and thinking it’s hilarious. It isn’t.”
Morris, soon after, sparked replies from conservative commentator Candace Owens, and Tucker Carlson dedicated a Fox News segment to the entire exchange. As you may have guessed, the segment’s chyron called Morris a “lunatic country music person.” Aldean, meanwhile, claimed her caption was “taken out of context” in a post promoting new merch that reads, “Don’t tread on our kids.”
In a matter of days, Morris released her own merch: black crewneck T-shirts with her name followed by “lunatic country music person.” Below the text is the phone number for Trans Lifeline, a hotline and support resource center for trans people. All proceeds for the shirt will be split between Trans Lifeline and the GLAAD Transgender Media Program, which aims to ensure fair and accurate representation of trans lives and issues in mainstream media.
Within two hours, Morris said, the shirt had raised $63,000, and in less than a day, $100,000 had been generated. Morris’s merch received a lot of love on Instagram, including comments from Maggie Rogers, Benito Skinner, and Pope, who commented, “I wish there was a slow clap emoji cause YES.”
