Maren Morris paid homage to the women that preceded her in refusing to "shut up and sing" on Saturday (Dec. 2) while accepting Variety's 2023 Change Maker of the Year award at the publication's Hitmakers brunch in Los Angeles.
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After being introduced by pop singer Maggie Rogers, Morris spoke about her negative experiences in country music.
Morris described the bittersweetness of following her childhood dreams of country stardom, which equated to "achieving success in [a system that] was deeply fractured and above all centered — get this — on men over any other sort of human being making comparable or oftentimes better music.
"I realized very quickly that publicly pointing out these inequalities doesn't make you the most popular," she continued. "If you dare criticize blatant misogyny, racism [and] transphobia within the ranks of your industry, you're met with isolation, death threats, labeled as ungrateful, biting the hand that fed you or diminishingly told to just shut up and sing."
While coping with industry backlash, Morris "found solace in the stories of my musical heroines," citing The Chicks, Taylor Swift, Sinead O'Connor and Billie Holiday.
"They were all told not to bite the hand. They were all told to shut up and sing," Morris said. "Now, I would never be silly enough to compare myself or my story to these women, but I have found deep inspiration in their courage in my moments of loneliness."
Per Morris, these women taught her that "you have to be a giant pain in the a-- to make any kind of change, because you're criticizing and trying to dismantle a status quo and making comfortable people feel uncomfortable."
The speech came at a time when headlines are picking apart whether or not Morris intends to leave the country music space entirely.
"I love making music, and you don't fight for what you don't love," Morris said. "So the only change I've made that I feel I can take any credit for is the one within myself, and if that has in any way reverberated outward and meaningfully affected somebody, then I'm privileged and relieved that it's done."
