Maren Morris Variety Hitmakers Speech: Singer Credits Brave Women in the Music Industry for Inspiring Her

A few months ago, Maren Morris made headlines for leaving the country music industry for its toxicity, and she recently received the Changemaker of the Year award at the Hitmakers celebration of Variety.

According to People Magazine, the singer credited some of the most inspiring women in the music industry for helping her get through her issues.

The musician attended the Hitmakers Brunch in Los Angeles, California, over the weekend, where she was introduced by Maggie Rogers.

When she took the stage for her acceptance speech, she addressed the crowd, saying, the success she had as a musician has been a life-long dream of hers, but being in the country music genre had its downside.

The reason is that she "was achieving success in [a system that] was deeply fractured and above all centered - get this - on men over any other sort of human being making comparable or oftentimes better music."

Maren Morris Stands Up For What She Think is Right

She noted that there were a lot of inequalities within the industry, and pointing them out could result into something dangerous.

Morris noted that when people dare to criticize problematic things such as misogyny, transphobia, racism, and more, they would get death threats and even be isolated from other people.

READ ALSO: Maren Morris Realized THIS Is Wrong With Country Music Upon Receiving Award

"You're met with isolation, death threats, labeled as ungrateful, biting the hand that fed you or diminishingly told to just shut up and sing," she added.

Maren Morris Reveals She Found Peace From Inspiring Women

Later on, she credited the likes of Taylor Swift, Billie Holiday, The Chicks, and Sinead O'Connor for being a big inspiration to her amid the backlash.

For Swift, she was inspired because she took back ownership of her work as a musician by re-recording all of her previously released albums. For The Chicks, they criticized the United States government "on invading Iraq" even though they were at the top of their career.

O'Connor for letting the public know about the abuses of the Catholic Church, and lastly, Holiday for still performing the song "Strange Fruit" as a protest even though she had been threatened.

"They were all told to shut up and sing... Now, I would never be silly enough to compare myself or my story to these women, but I have found deep inspiration in their courage in my moments of loneliness," she added.

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