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Tag Archives: Morris
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Maren Morris Takes Jab At Tucker Carlson During GLAAD Media Awards Acceptance Speech: “I Would Never Insult The Recently Unemployed” – Deadline
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- Maren Morris says she ‘felt a little badass’ when Tucker Carlson called her a ‘lunatic’ Yahoo Entertainment
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Maren Morris Skips 2022 CMAs Red Carpet After Saying She’s Not ‘Comfortable’ Going
Jason Kempin/Getty Maren Morris
She may be up for one of the night’s biggest prizes, but Maren Morris opted not to walk the red carpet at the 2022 CMA Awards.
After a September interview with the Los Angeles Times in which the country star expressed her discomfort with the annual award show, fans had wondered if Morris, 32, would show at Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night. Her most recent album, Humble Quest, is nominated for album of the year.
She and husband Ryan Hurd arrived just in time for the album of the year category. After Luke Combs took home the prize, Morris gave her fellow country star a standing ovation, then departed the venue.
Morris later gave fans a peek at her outfit in a cheeky video shared to Twitter that featured her strutting down a hallway with a bottle of Dom Pérignon in her hands to the tune of Taylor Swift’s “Karma.”
“BYOB, CMA,” she captioned the post, adding a “cheers” emoji.
During her chat with the Times, Morris, 32, said she had mixed feelings about attending the CMAs, and said she often feels “awkward” at such events.
“Honestly, I haven’t decided if I’m gonna go,” she said at the time. “I’m very honored that my record is nominated. But I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now. So many people I love will be in that room, and maybe I’ll make a game-time decision and go. But as of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going.”
RELATED VIDEO: Maren Morris, Cassadee Pope Call Out Jason Aldean’s Wife for Transphobic Comment: ‘Real Nice’
She continued: “I think I was more sad going last year. Some nights are fun. Others I’m just crawling out of my skin. I’m not good at those events because I’m awkward. But this time I kind of feel peaceful at the notion of not going.”
Check out PEOPLE’s full CMAs coverage to get the latest news on country music’s biggest night
The CMAs discussion came just weeks after the “Circles Around This Town” singer publicly criticized Brittany Kerr Aldean — the wife of fellow country star Jason Aldean — for making a transphobic comment in an Instagram video amid ongoing debate and efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care.
“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,” Brittany captioned a makeup reveal video in September.
RELATED: Maren Morris Embraces ‘Lunatic Country Music Person’ Title as She Gets in on Halloween Costume Meme
Christopher Polk/Getty Maren Morris
Morris responded on Twitter: “It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie.”
The exchange sparked additional back-and-forths between Morris, Brittany, and other stars like Cassadee Pope, Lindsay Ell, and more, and when Brittany appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show to discuss the situation, Carlson labeled Morris a “Lunatic Country Music Person.”
RELATED: Miranda Lambert, Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson and More to Perform at 2022 CMA Awards
Morris, in turn, stuck the phrase on T-shirts and sold them to fans, ultimately raising more than $150,000 for the Trans Lifeline and GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program.
The 2022 CMAs hosted by Luke Bryan are airing live Wednesday night from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
Philip Morris to Raise Offer for Swedish Match and Buy U.S. Rights for IQOS
Philip Morris’s original offer for Swedish Match in May was 161.2 billion Swedish Krona, which was then equivalent to $16 billion. The new offer is expected to be announced as soon as Thursday, the people said.
The move is made easier by the strength of the U.S. dollar against the Swedish currency since the deal was struck. Other factors that went into the revised offer were inflation, volatility in equity markets and changes in interest rates, one of the people said. Philip Morris has been under pressure from Elliott Management Corp. and other investors to sweeten the bid.
Philip Morris has separately struck a deal with
Altria
MO -0.22%
to buy back the U.S. commercialization rights for IQOS, Philip Morris’s heated tobacco device, the companies said.
The deal, which takes effect April 30, 2024, frees up Philip Morris to market IQOS in the U.S. through the Swedish Match sales force if the Swedish Match deal closes. Philip Morris is also prepared to sell IQOS in the U.S. on its own, Philip Morris Chief Executive Jacek Olczak said. The deal includes an upfront $1 billion payment with the rest paid by July 2023,
Altria
said.
Altria introduced IQOS in the U.S. in 2019 and sold it in a handful of states until last year, when it had to stop importing IQOS as the result of a patent dispute. Philip Morris has said it plans to begin manufacturing IQOS in the U.S. next year so that it may resume selling the products in the U.S.
The payments from Philip Morris will give Altria greater flexibility to allocate resources toward its plan to expand into smoke-free products, Altria Chief Executive Billy Gifford said.
Both IQOS, which is sold outside the U.S., and the proposal to buy Swedish Match are part of Philip Morris’s strategy to generate more than 50% of annual net revenue from smoke-free products by 2025, up from about 30% currently.
IQOS is a device that heats tobacco but doesn’t burn it or produce smoke when users inhale. It is an alternative to e-cigarettes, which create an aerosol from a nicotine liquid.
Philip Morris and Altria have been in a dispute over IQOS, which they introduced into the U.S. through a partnership. Philip Morris argued that Altria hadn’t met the agreed-upon sales targets for IQOS that would allow Altria to extend its exclusive U.S. rights. Altria said that it had. The two Marlboro makers will now pursue competing products in the U.S.
Altria, which sells Marlboro cigarettes in the U.S., said it expects to complete the design for its own new heated tobacco device by the end of 2022; it would then need to seek FDA authorization. Altria is also the largest shareholder in Juul Labs Inc., an e-cigarette maker that is in a dispute with U.S. officials over whether it can remain on the U.S. market.
The friendly deal between Philip Morris and Swedish Match has been conditional on the tobacco company gaining more than 90% of Swedish Match’s shares. That would allow Philip Morris to squeeze out any residual shareholders by paying them the same price as other investors, and then fully fold the business into its own.
But Philip Morris has been under pressure by a group of investors led by Elliott, which holds a 7.25% stake in Swedish Match, to raise the bid after they opposed it as too low. Without their support, Philip Morris would need to lower the minimum threshold to complete the offer.
That is risky, however, because Swedish Match’s remaining minority shareholders could frustrate Philip Morris’s ability to fully integrate the business. Any move to transfer assets or carry out related-party transactions would require Philip Morris to hold a shareholder vote, which Philip Morris couldn’t join, according to Sweden’s takeover rules.
Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com and Ben Dummett at ben.dummett@wsj.com
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Jason Aldean concertgoers boo when he mentions Maren Morris amid feud
Jason Aldean spurred on his feud with Maren Morris over the weekend.
Onstage in Nashville on Friday, the “Dirt Road Anthem” singer teased a mystery performer who would be joining him. But while ticking off the names of some of country music’s biggest stars, he mentioned Morris, and it drew booing from the crowd.
“Asked some friends to come out tonight to make the show extra special,” Jason told the crowd, as seen in social media videos. “I thought, man, who could I call? I got some friends in town. I could call Luke Bryan. I could call Kane Brown. See if Kenny Chesney’s here and not at the beach.”
The crowd cheered for each name until Aldean said, “Maren Morris,” which received a negative response. As the attendees booed loudly, Jason shrugged and acted confused, as if he had no idea why the audience would react that way.
Jason, who is on his Rock N’ Roll Cowboy Tour, went on to call out Morgan Wallen. Miranda Lambert was also a guest.
Jason’s Morris reference stems from the back-and-forth she had with his wife, Brittany Aldean. In August, Brittany — half of the conservative country music couple — posted a video of herself doing her makeup with the 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.” Maren was among the prominent women in the country music to reply, calling her a “scumbag human” for her transphobic comments. She also dubbed her “Insurrection Barbie” for peddling conspiracy theories after the Jan 6, 2021 riots at the Capitol.
Brittany doubled down on her comments — and was supported by Jason, who called her, “MY Barbie!!” Morris’s husband, Ryan Hurd, also entered the chat, defending his wife, saying, “picking on trans kids isn’t something that is brave at all.” Meanwhile, Morris was identified as “lunatic country music person” on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show, a phrase she put on T-shirts and sold, donating the profits, over $150,000, to GLAAD’s Transgender Media Program and Trans Lifeline.
In September, Maren Morris said she had no regrets about going up against Brittany and Jason on social media, telling the Los Angeles Times, “I hate feeling like I need to be the hall monitor of treating people like human beings in country music. It’s exhausting. But there’s a very insidious culture of people feeling very comfortable being transphobic and homophobic and racist, and that they can wrap it in a joke and no one will ever call them out for it. It just becomes normal for people to behave like that.”
However, Morris also said she’s now undecided about whether she’ll attend the Country Music Awards on Nov. 9 in this climate. Her album, Humble Quest, is nominated for Album of the Year. Jason’s song with Carrie Underwood, “If I Didn’t Love You,” is nominated for Musical Event of the Year.
“I don’t know if I feel [at] home there right now,” Morris said. “As of right now, I don’t feel comfortable going.”
Maren Morris, Cassadee Pope Slam Brittany Aldean’s Transphobic Post
Maren Morris, Cassadee Pope, and Brittany Aldean. Shutterstock (3)
Country drama. Maren Morris and Cassadee Pope are clapping back after Brittany Aldean (née Kerr) — the wife of singer Jason Aldean — seemingly shared a transphobic message.
“You’d think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging,” Pope, 32, tweeted on Friday, August 26, referring to Brittany, 33, and her Instagram caption about being a “girly” girl. “But instead, here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase’ to someone wanting to transition. Real nice.”
Pope further noted that while she had “stopped following” Brittany’s account “a long time ago,” she “couldn’t help but address” the controversy after seeing a friend repost the social media upload.
Brittany — who married the 45-year-old “Dirt Road Anthem” crooner in 2015 — had shared a makeup tutorial via Instagram earlier this month, in which she compared her former tomboy personality to that of transgender individuals in the process of transitioning.
“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🤎✌🏼,” the blogger captioned her video on Tuesday, August 23, sharing footage of how she puts together her beauty look.
Jason, for his part, replied: “Lmao!! I’m glad they didn’t too, cause you and I wouldn’t have worked out 😂.”
While the mother of two — she shares Memphis, 4, and Navy, 3, with her spouse — and her friends praised her beauty look and message, both the former Voice winner and Morris, 32, were less than impressed.
“It’s so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie,” the “Middle” songstress tweeted on Friday, referring to the January riot at the Capitol following the presidential election.
Several hours later, Brittany addressed her controversial remarks.
“Advocating for the genital mutilation of children under the disguise of love and calling it ‘gender-affirming care’ is one of the worst evils,” the YouTube personality claimed in an Instagram Story statement on Friday, tagging Pope’s account. “I will always support my children and do what I can to protect their innocence. The other day, Memphis wanted to be a dinosaur and tomorrow Navy will want to be a cat, they’re children.”
She continued: “Some parents want to be accepted by society so badly that they’re willing to make life-altering decisions for their children who aren’t old enough to fully comprehend the consequences of those actions. Love is protecting your child until they are mature enough as an adult to make their own life decisions.”
Brittany then doubled down on her initial message, once again thanking her parents — Debbie and Donald Kerr — for allowing her to “go through my tomboy phase without changing my gender.” She concluded her message, “Until then, leave children alone!”
The social media influencer went on to share a list of age requirements for individuals to enter the military, purchase cigarettes, drive a car and vote. After listing that those require people to be 18, 21, 16 and 18, respectively, she then speculated about the age requirement to “take life-altering hormone blockers” or “irreversible surgery,” referring to gender affirmation surgery which reconstructs patients’ bodies to better align with their gender identity.
In response to Morris’ clapback, Brittany called her “Karen Morris” but thanked her for the “Barbie” nickname.
Pope eventually responded to Brittany’s reply, writing via Instagram: “POV: Knowing you got under someone’s skin you don’t like in the first place 😂.”
Morris commented at the time: “You know, I’m glad she didn’t become a boy either because we really don’t need another asshole dude in the world. Sucks when Karens try to hide their homophobia/transphobia behind their ‘protectiveness of the children.’ Weren’t they putting their kids in ‘[President Joe] Biden-is-a-pedo’ shirts on social media? Sounds like a real safe way to protect them from millions of eyes! … F—k all the way off to Insurrection Barbie and the fellow IB’s trolling this comment section with their hypocritical, hateful asses.”
Brittany Aldean did not immediately respond to Us Weekly‘s request for comment.
Bradley Beal opts out; Wizards trade Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for Monte Morris
With the deal, the Wizards checked off one of their top two priorities of the summer: to find a reliable solution at point guard. The other is to re-sign franchise cornerstone Bradley Beal to a long-term contract.
Beal declined his $36.4 million player option for the 2022-23 season Wednesday, according to his agent, Mark Bartelstein, and became a free agent for the first time in his career. The guard can now re-sign with the Wizards for a maximum contract worth roughly $250 million over five years or join a different team, either through free agency or a sign-and-trade deal.
Staying with the Wizards is financially prudent for Beal, who turned 29 on Tuesday. The biggest contract any other team could offer the guard is worth around $185 million over four years.
Should he return, he’ll suit up alongside a reliable point guard who checks off plenty of Washington’s boxes. The Athletic first reported the Morris trade.
The 27-year-old Morris is not the missing piece to complete a hypothetical “Big Three” featuring Beal and Kristaps Porzingis. But he does posses three assets that make him an excellent fit for the Wizards: He is a capable defender; he is more concerned with keeping the team organized and dishing assists than scoring; and he is owed just over $18.9 million over the next two seasons. For a team that may soon be tied up with a massive contract for Beal and owes Porzingis nearly $70 million over the next two years, that is a friendly salary.
Morris, Barton and Coach Wes Unseld Jr. also have a previously established relationship from their years together with the Nuggets. When Unseld returned to Denver in December for the first time since taking over the Wizards’ reins, Morris was one of a handful of players who walked over to the Washington sideline before the game to greet the former Nuggets assistant. Morris approached Unseld with a wide grin and extended his arm before hugging the coach and making him double over with laughter.
Unseld was a part of the Denver staff that drafted Morris in 2017 and signed him to a two-way contract that season, dividing his time between the NBA and the G League. He worked his way up to start 74 games last season while Jamal Murray was rehabbing an ACL injury — a hard-won path to the pros that people in Washington’s front office appreciate. Wizards brass also noted Morris’s leadership skills.
The point guard averaged 12.6 points and 4.4 assists last season. And though he isn’t considered a score-first guard, he can put the ball in the hoop: his 58.3 true shooting percentage was eighth among all point guards last season, tied with Dallas’s Jalen Brunson.
As a bonus, Morris and Washington forward Kyle Kuzma have ties that extend back to grade school.
Barton, a Baltimore native, is a 31-year-old wing who could slot in nicely behind Beal on the depth chart. He averaged 14.7 points in more than 30 minutes a game last season and shot 43.8 percent from the floor and 36.5 percent from three-point range.
Members of the Wizards front office like his versatility. Barton can create his own scoring opportunities or set up others, and come off the bench or start as needed.
Washington will still need to find depth behind Morris at point guard, as Raul Neto and Tomas Satoransky are both set for free agency. The team hosted a pair of potential prospects in a three-day minicamp over the weekend in Kris Dunn, the fifth pick in the 2016 NBA draft, and Pierria Henry, an American-born guard who has become a EuroLeague standout over the past few years.
Veteran point guard Smith, meantime, is headed to his 13th team, an NBA record.
Washington has acquired Will Barton and Monte Morris from Denver for Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith
The Washington Wizards have finalized a deal to acquire Denver Nuggets guards Will Barton and Monte Morris for guards Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Ish Smith, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Wednesday.
Barton started all 71 games he played with the Nuggets last season, averaging 14.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists a game.
Morris appeared in 75 games for Denver, starting 74 of those contests while averages of 12.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game.
Caldwell-Pope, in his first full season with the Wizards, played and started in 77 games for Washington. He averaged 13.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 rebounds a game.
Smith was featured in primarily a backup role for Washington, playing in just 28 games last season averaging 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.8 rebounds per contest.
Hulu cancels Lamorne Morris’ Woke after 2 seasons
Hulu has canceled Woke, the two-season comedy that starred Lamorne Morris as a cartoonist trying to survive as a Black man in America (while also being frequently addressed by inanimate objects in the environment, which vocalized his various traumas and inner thoughts). The partially animated series, based on the work of cartoonist Keith Knight, debuted on the streaming service back in September 2020; it aired its second (and now final) batch of episodes on April 8, 2022.
In addition to Morris (in his first really big starring role since New Girl went off the air in 2018), Woke starred Blake Anderson, T. Murph, Sasheer Zamata, Rose McIver, and Aimee Garcia—in addition to the cast of ringers brought in to voice its various inanimate objects, including J.B. Smoove, Nicole Byer, Eddie Griffin, Cree Summer, Tony Hale, Sam Richardson, Jack McBrayer, Cedric The Entertainer, and Keith David (as The Bible, which feels particularly apt).
Woke pulled decidedly mixed reviews in its first season, with critics dinging it for failing to use its doses of absurdity as much more than a distraction from the issues it hoped to address. In her September 2020 review of the series for us, Shannon Miller wrote:
While this all-consuming transition from protective detachment to crushing awareness is new for Keef, it doesn’t really make for a fresh viewing experience for an audience that is currently witnessing a real-life, modern-day civil rights movement right outside of its window. Neither Keef nor those around him offer any intriguing insights, the jokes are too well-worn to inspire any real laughter, and Keef’s journey can often feel more like casual meandering as the season trudges through moments that focus too intently on commonly explored microaggressions. For instance, in the episode “Gig E. Smalls,” Keef discovers that he is the only Black person at a party packed with WASPy art lovers. Within moments, he is subjected to tired pandering as attendees approach him with condescending bits about O.J. Simpson, Wakanda, reparations, and one dusted off Sunken Place reference. It’s 2020. Have we not moved beyond any of this?
The general onrushing glut of streaming content, meanwhile, appears to have left the show’s second season—which saw Morris’ Keef expand his reach as an “art-ivist”—largely unreviewed as it got lost in the mix; not wholly surprising, then, to see the show get the boot this week.
[via Deadline]
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