Singer, songwriter, and activist Maren Morris stopped by the GLAAD Media Award nominated Kelly Clarkson Show to talk about her upcoming tour, new music, motherhood, and new children’s book Addie Ant Goes on An Adventure.
Morris, who accepted the Excellence in Media Award at the 34th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, spoke about how becoming an activist was never something she planned, it just came naturally to her. “I want to be able to do music forever but I want to do it on my terms. If it costs me fans by standing up for people that truly need all the megaphoning, I am ok with them not being at the show.”
In 2022, right-wing media branded her as a “Lunatic country music person” for her unwavering support for the transgender community. In response she helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for LGBTQ charities, including GLAAD’s Transgender Representation program.
They then talk about Morris’s decision to introduce her son to a drag show in response to the rising anti-LGBTQ legislation. She explains that her son loves watching her get her makeup done, so why would a drag queen be any different? “It was completely harmless. I think it’s such an amazing expression of artistry,” she tells Clarkson.
“I think normalizing it and making it seen that these are just people who love dressing up too is an amazing thing,” she continues.
This isn’t the first time Morris has stood up for the LGBTQ community, drag queens specifically. Last Pride Month, Morris posed in Willie Nelson drag on the cover of Billboard alongside drag queens and kings Eureka O’Hara, Landon Cider, Sasha Colby, and Symone. This issue was nominated for a GLAAD Media Award, read more here.
“I miss being a tour rat,” Morris says about her excitement for her upcoming tour. She is looking forward to performing for more intimate crowds this time around.
Later in the show, Morris is joined by her best friend and now co-author Karina Argow. They talk about how the book, Addie Ant Goes on An Adventure, came to be. “I’ve always wanted to make a children’s album or a write a children’s book at some point in my life,” Morris, who is the mother of a toddler explains. This prompted Argow to share the world of bug characters she had been creating in her mind for years while working in her garden. To which Morris replied, “So, we’re doing this. We’re going to write a book.”
The premise of the book is that Addie, an ant, leaving her home for the first time. Along the way she gets to make new friends, explore the garden, and learns it’s ok to ask for help.
Morris teased that as well as an upcoming album she hopes to have released by the end of the year, she also hopes to produce an accompanying soundtrack to the book!
Watch Maren Morris’s acceptance speech for the Excellence in Media Award at the 34th annual GLAAD Media Awards:
Addie Ant Goes on An Adventure is available now and don’t miss Morris’s upcoming RSVP Tour!