Maren Morris Says Country Music Has Become Unfriendly Space Amid Political Tensions

Maren Morris is illuminating how the country music scene has experienced increased political division, which has impacted her career, creative choices, and private life during the last 10 years to the present day. In a TikTok video shared Friday, Jan. 9, the 35-year-old artist reflected on navigating success, backlash, and change as a woman in country music.

“The choices I have made over the years, being a woman in music, especially country music, over the years, is very calculated,” Morris, 35, said. “I was very luckily successful in country music. I put my first song out, ‘My Church,' and it ended up being added a f*** ton on country radio and never went No. 1 but was really big at the time. I got a GRAMMY for it.”

She continued, “I was having, like, the best year of my life professionally, um, but I was also starting to see — my first album, Hero, with ‘My Church,' came out in June of 2016 and [Donald] Trump won in November of 2016. So my entire, like, success of my first record was under this first year of Trump's reign. So weirdly everything felt very political, even though, like, no one cared that much before.”

Morris explained that the industry climate has intensified in recent years alongside significant personal changes. “And the last few years I have definitely taken moves during Covid, post all of that — I've gotten divorced, I'm, like, a single mom now, and I'm sort of, like, in my own weird music space,” she added. “It's really heartbreaking because I love my Texas roots, I love country music, I love Nashville — I live here [and] I have not lived anywhere else in the last 15 years — but it's been very hot. Like, no one is very friendly.”

She said songwriting cannot separate lived experience from politics. “But you cannot be a full songwriter and, you know, reflect reality and live through song without being political,” she continued. “Like, I'm sorry, it is what it is … I try to be kind, I try to be benevolent, but there are people and energies in the sphere of my work the last few years that have really put me off. So, I've stepped away in certain facets. But I still love country music.”

Morris acknowledged that some listeners disagree with her views and may choose not to engage with her music, a reality she accepts. However, she still writes music based on her own life experiences, remains true to who she is, and holds fast to the lessons of her Texas and Nashville roots, even amid all the controversy, political division, and challenges in the industry.