Maren Morris appears to have words for Jason Aldean.
The country music star, 33, shared a teaser for an upcoming release on Thursday, and fans are speculating that there’s reason to believe it includes a reference to Aldean’s controversial song “Try That in a Small Town.”
Along with a photo of herself, the “The Middle” singer posted a clip to Instagram featuring miniatures of a picturesque street and one telling billboard. The sign, which also includes an American flag, reads, “Welcome to Our Perfect Town From Sunrise to Sundown.”
In the caption, the recording artist wrote, “I’m done filling a cup with a hole in the bottom.”
Several other singer-songwriters supported Morris’ teaser in the comments. Brandi Carlile, who collaborated with the singer in the supergroup The Highwomen, replied, “Oh it is ON 🔥.” Fellow country artist Cassadee Pope also commented with a series of eye emojis, while pop artist Julia Michaels added, “WOW WOW,” and rising country singer Brooke Eden said, “READY FOR THIS 🙌 .”
Although there are few other details, many suspect the phrase “Perfect Town” refers to the Aldean, 46, song, which was released in May and received backlash for its lyrics that were deemed as being pro-gun and pro-violence. When the music video was released in July, it continued to spark controversy, as the visual was filmed in front of the Maury County Courthouse in Columbia, Tennessee, where the 1927 lynching of Henry Choate took place. Four days after it dropped, CMT pulled the clip from its rotation.
Morris has long been an ally to the LGBTQ community, released music in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and spoken openly about championing progressivism in Nashville and country music.
In 2022, as states began enacting legislation to restrict access to gender-confirming health care, the “Girl” singer criticized Aldean’s wife Brittany Kerr Aldean for making transphobic comments.
At the time, the makeup artist, 33, who has a line of hair extensions, posted a video on Instagram, saying, “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.”
Morris then responded to a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) that Pope, 34, made about Aldean.
“You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging,” the former winner of The Voice tweeted. “But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.”
The “Chasing After You” artist added, “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie,” in the replies.
In June, the performer appeared on the cover of Billboard’s Pride issue with drag stars Eureka O’Hara, Landon Cider, Sasha Colby and Symone and shared her thoughts on the importance of being an ally.
“I’m from Texas, I live in Tennessee, and I do love the community I have there, but these bills almost incentivize us to turn on one another,” the artist said to the outlet of anti-trans legislation. “They’re rewarding us to turn each other in, which feels kind of like a Nazi Germany thing where we turn on our own communities.”
The “Circles Around This Town” singer-songwriter also explained why she continues to use her platform. “I have heard the term ‘Shut up and sing’ more times than I can count — that’s always the cutesy little threat that they like to make,” Morris said. “So I would say to my peers who are artists and to record-label heads, publishers, songwriters: I don’t think any of us got into this art form to be an activist, but that’s ultimately thrust upon you to exist in this space and to feel like you can sleep at night.”