Maren Morris has long been standing on the right side of history. Not only has she been active on Twitter, speaking out against racism and sharing resources, but her 2020 song “Better Than We Found It” (co-written with Jessie Jo Dillon, Jimmy Robbins, and Laura Veltz) confronts America’s racist past, as well as her own privilege. When time turns this moment to dust / I just hope that I’m proud of the woman I was, she sings.
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Ahead of the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, taking place this Sunday (March 14), Morris stopped by “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” to further discuss country music’s role in perpetuating racism and the slow trickle of change that’s been happening since the murder of George Floyd last summer. “I’m a white woman in country music. I already sort of have this leg up, and even though there’s a huge disparity of men and women in our genre, there’s even more of a disparity between white women and Black women trying to be in country music,” she tells host Ellen DeGeneres.
“There’s so many Black women and [Black] men who adore country music and don’t feel the door is open for them even a crack. I’ve been doing so much of my own homework the last couple of years, especially since George Floyd,” she continues. “I just feel like country music as a genre — we all have so much room to grow, myself included — but I think country music definitely is stepping up to the plate slowly but surely.”
Actionable steps, including Morris seeking out first-time video director Gabrielle Woodland, visionary behind the “Better Than We Found It” visual, are what lead to real change. It is “these steps we take that we can do as artists or as entertainers that really help somebody’s resume. She did such an amazing job with the video,” adds Morris.
Of course, speaking truth to power can come with a barrage of hate. Morris doesn’t take too much stock in any of it, though. “You’re always going to have people that want to come for you if you say something that’s unpopular to them or groupthink. You know what, I have to think about my son and the people in my circle going forward, who I write with and employ, and think, ‘Am I making room for everybody?’ I don’t care if someone on TikTok thinks I suck. It’s not really my issue. I want to exist in a genre that is working to be better.”
In the sit-down chat, Morris also discusses parenting an almost-one-year-old during a pandemic and the importance of TJ Osborne, one-half of Brothers Osborne, recently coming out as a gay man. “I hope that [TJ] having the bravery to even do that has made a few more people that love country music that are gay feel like they have a home there too,” Morris says. “I’m so proud of him. He was one of my first friends when I moved to Nashville eight years ago. He’s just so talented, so kind. For him to put it all out there, I’m not a sliver of that brave so I’m just really proud of TJ.”
At the 63rd Grammy Awards, Morris competes for Best Country Song for her genre-busting smash “The Bones.” John Mayer is expected to take the stage on guitar in a collaborative performance with the country star. The award show airs this Sunday on CBS at 8 pm EST.
