Country music star Maren Morris has raised over $100,000 for transgender support organizations after white supremacist Tucker Carlson mocked her on his Fox News show last Thursday.
Carlson called Morris a “lunatic,” and a “fake country music singer” after mentioning Morris’ public statements against transphobic comments made by Brittany Kerr Aldean. Aldean is a beauty lifestyle influencer married to Grammy-nominated country music artist Jason Aldean.
Morris immediately mocked Carlson’s insult by publishing a fake image of herself with a chyron from Carlson’s show declaring her as a “lunatic country music person.”
Morris then published a tweet announcing the sale of a t-shirt with the words, “Marren Morris: Lunatic Country Music Person” on it. The shirt also had the phone number of the Trans Lifeline, a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning peers.
“All proceeds will be split between @TransLifeline & the @GLAAD Transgender Media Program,” Morris wrote in the tweet.
By Labor Day, Morris announced on Twitter, “Over $100K raised. Have a great Labor Day weekend, lunatics.”
During his rant against Morris, Carlson said that in 2022, “You’re required to believe that minors should be castrated by their parents.”
Brittany Kerr Aldean told Carlson, “For some reason, people are thinking that we can let a child choose their gender so young. It’s very baffling to me. Especially when that process is irreparable. I mean, you wind up castrating children removing their sex organs, making them sterile for life. I mean, these are huge consequences.”
In reality, genital surgeries for trans minors are rare, but cisgender parents regularly conduct such surgeries on intersex children without the child’s informed consent. Other forms of gender-affirming healthcare for trans youth — such as puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy — are reversible and do not cause permanent sterility.
Carlson has repeatedly used his show, Fox News’ most popular program, to push an anti-Semitic and white supremacist “replacement theory,” the idea that immigrants and people of color seek to replace white Americans to fundamentally change the nation’s racial makeup and political culture. The theory has been cited by white supremacists as a justification for political and physical violence against Jews and non-white people.
The feud between Morris and Brittany Kerr Aldean began on August 24 when Aldean wrote on an Instagram video caption, “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.” Her comment ignorantly parroted several right-wing claims about trans youth and highlighted her and her husband’s recent outspoken conservative activism.
On Twitter, Morris responded to the video by writing, “You know, I’m glad she didn’t become a boy either because we really don’t need another as***le dude in the world. Sucks when Karens try to hide their homophobia/transphobia behind their ‘protectiveness of the children.’”
Morris also published tweets referring to Aldean as “a scumbag human” and “Insurrection Barbie.”
Aldean has since marketed clothing with the phrase “Don’t Tread On Our Kids.” Profits from the clothing will go to Operation Light Shine, a Nashville-based organization that combats human trafficking and child exploitation.
Aldean’s donation furthers the right-wing claim that LGBTQ activists and allies of trans-youth want to “groom” children for sexual exploitation.
After Liz Truss’ victory in the Tory leadership race, we look at her likely new cabinet and their stances on LGBTQ+ rights.
Truss was confirmed as Britain’s next prime minister on Monday (5 September), and will take office after visiting the Queen in Balmoral on Tuesday (6 September).
Immediately, she will set about installing a team of allies around her, who collectively will shape Britain’s path on everything from education and finances to equality and human rights.
It’s been widely predicted that Liz Truss’ cabinet will include current business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor and former leadership rival Suella Braverman as home secretary.
The current ministers in those roles – Nadhim Zahawi and Priti Patel, could offered lesser offices – whether they would accept demotions remains unclear.
There won’t be a job for Rishi Sunak, it’s thought. However Kemi Badenoch, who also vied for the leadership and was an equalities minister under Truss, is tipped for a big promotion, with work and pensions secretary Thérèse Coffey also being eyed for a key role.
Ahead of the official announcement, we take a look at the likely candidates for Liz Truss’ cabinet and scrutinise their LGBTQ+ records.
Suella Braverman
Suella Braverman wants schools to be able to misgender trans kids. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Attorney general Suella Braverman made a short-lived bid for the Tory leadership, with a campaign rooted firmly in “war on woke” rhetoric.
She announced her bid with an anti-trans dogwhistle, claiming: “We need to get rid of all of this woke rubbish and get back to a country where describing a man and a woman in terms of biology does not mean that you’re going to lose your job.”
While anti-trans talking points became a defining part of the Tory leadership race, Braverman didn’t simply pick up this rhetoric to win votes. Even before Johnson’s downfall, she was making headlines for suggesting Westminster could block Scotland’s vital and long-promised reform of the Gender Recognition Act, which would make it easier for trans people to get a Gender Recognition Certificate.
Since she was knocked out of the race, her profile heightened, she has continued this line of politics. In a speech in August, she attacked LGBTQ-inclusive education, saying schools should not be teaching kids “keywords” about the LGBTQ+ community or affirming trans identities.
She also told The Times that teachers have no legal requirement to support trans and non-binary pupils by letting them use the toilets or wear school uniform that aligns with their gender.
Kemi Badenoch
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch. (Facebook/ Kemi Badenoch MP)
Truss confirmed in August that Kemi Badenoch was in line for a top cabinet role.
During her leadership bid, Badenoch positioned herself as “anti-woke”, winning an endorsement from far-right group Britain First.
Nadine Dorries
Culture secretary Nadine Dorries has increasingly taken aim at trans rights. (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
There is speculation that Nadine Dorries could remain in her role as secretary for digital, culture, media and sport, primarily so that she can continue her work around reforming the BBC license fee and privatising Channel 4.
This is bad news for the LGBTQ+ community – in particular, trans athletes.
Dorries has been vocal in her support of banning trans athletes from women’s sports, telling British sports bosses that trans women competing alongside cis players is “inherently unfair”.
In June, Dorries told representatives from football, cricket, rugby, tennis, athletics and other sports: “I have made my position absolutely clear: I expect sporting bodies to follow the policy that competitive women’s sport must be reserved for people born of the female sex.”
In 2013, Dorries voted against same-sex marriage and even compared it to incest, asking parliament: “If the gay marriage bill takes sex out of marriage could a sister marry a sister to avoid inheritance tax?”
She labelled the bill “political suicide” and argued that same-sex marriage could never be valid because queer couples couldn’t consummate the union with “ordinary and complete sex”.
In 2021, Dorries called the vote her “biggest regret”. “I will regret it all of my life but truly hope that all same-sex marriages live happily ever after,” she said.
Thérèse Coffey
Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey
Thérèse Coffey has become known for her staunch opposition to same-sex marriage.
She voted against marriage equality in England and Wales 2013 and against in Northern Ireland in 2019.
Explaining her views in 2020, she said: “I took the view at the time, and I still hold to that, I have a strong faith background about what is a legal partnership and what is marriage.”
Kwasi Kwarteng
Business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng arrives at CCHQ ahead of the prime minister announcement. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
Kwasi Kwarteng, who is expected to take the role of chancellor in the newly formed cabinet, twice voted against same-sex marriage in 2013, and has been absent from all other votes on the subject since.
Kwarteng told Sky News: “I don’t think there’s a culture of misogyny”. He later conceded that while there were some “bad apples”, “that doesn’t mean that the entire culture is extremely misogynistic or full of male entitlement”.
James Cleverly
James Cleverly, education secretary, arrives for a Cabinet meeting at 10 Downing Street. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)
James Cleverly, currently education secretary, could become the new foreign secretary after he backed Truss’ campaign.
Cleverly has never voted on LGBTQ+ rights in parliament but has made statements supporting same-sex marriage, LGBTQ-inclusive education and LGBTQ+ servicepeople.
“There were ‘no’ gay soldiers when I joined the army, yet some of my closest military friends were gay,” he said in 2019.
“Since homosexuality was legalised in the forces we discover that military discipline didn’t collapse and (surprise, surprise) we are still a world class fighting force.”
In a 2005 blog titled “I like marriage”, which he reposed in 2013, he described his views on equality.
“Gay ‘marriage’ takes nothing away from heterosexual marriage and while there will be some civil partnerships which are done for the wrong reasons the same can be said of straight marriage. Best of luck I say,” he wrote.
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Marren MorrisPhoto: YouTube screenshot
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