Maren Morris Defends Her ‘Insurrection Barbie’ Tweet to Brittany Aldean

Maren Morris has no regrets when it comes to standing up for what she believes in.

The singer-songwriter, 34, made waves in August 2022 when she called out Jason Aldean’s wife Brittany for making transphobic comments with a zinger on X (formerly Twitter): “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie,” she wrote at the time.

The comment set off a firestorm of controversy that even saw Morris become a talking point on Fox News. But two years later, the star is proud of how it all went down.

“I don’t really have any tweets that I’ve regretted,” she said on a recent episode of Cosmopolitan’s Cheap Shots. “I will say I didn’t think my ‘Insurrection Barbie’ tweet to a certain someone would have picked up so much momentum, but I stand by it.”

Though the “Push Me Over” singer told Proud Radio with Hunter Kelly shortly after writing the tweet that she didn’t “want to be known for my clapbacks on Twitter,” and would prefer that people know her for her music, Morris explained why it’s important to her advocate for the LGBTQ+ community (which she has since revealed she is a part of).

“I can’t just be this merch store on the internet that sells you songs and T-shirts,” she said. “I have to let people know, because the real human aspect of this is when I go on tour, and I see the people in my crowd, that is not the internet, that is real… And you see how your crowd starts to change the more that you let people know where you stand.”

The feud between Morris and Aldean began when Aldean, who at the time sold a line of hair extensions, made a transphobic comment on Instagram while sharing a video of her doing her makeup amid debates and efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care. According to the Trevor Project, transgender and nonbinary young people who had access to gender-affirming clothing, gender-neutral bathrooms at school, and had their pronouns respected by the people they live with had lower rates of attempting suicide compared to those who did not.

“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,” Aldean said.

Morris sent off her tweet in response to a note from Cassadee Pope, who wrote in response to Aldean’s comment, “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.”

In July, Aldean addressed the back-and-forth on an episode of the Try That in a Small Town podcast, saying that “for some reason,” she “offend[s]” Morris and her group of friends.

“She called me [Insurrection Barbie], and then she started to make fun of my business, which at the time was hair extensions. Going back to the feminist movement, right. Aren’t you supposed to be about peace, love and all inclusivity and all the things?” Aldean said. “Why are you coming for me like that about my business?”

In the years since, Morris — who came out as bisexual in June following her divorce from Ryan Hurd — has taken a step back from the country music world to embrace a more pop sound, which can be heard on her most recent EP Intermission.

The star recently opened up to PEOPLE about writing her new song “Push Me Over” helped her find the strength to publicly come out.

“I didn’t ever feel before I had the courage to say that, and it was something that I knew for decades, but I think it was just the timing of: I’m in a space to say this without anything really getting misconstrued, and it’s Pride Month,” she said. “I also had just felt comfortable in myself enough to write a song like ‘Push Me Over.’ It gave me the little shot of courage I needed, I guess.”

Source: PEOPLE, Cosmopolitan, Proud Radio with Hunter Kelly, Try That in a Small Town podcast, Trevor Project