Kelsey Ballerini received massive praise for making two heartfelt moves at the CMT Awards 2023.
Ballerini served as the host of the 2023 CMT Awards alongside Kane Brown. The event aired live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on CBS and Paramount.
Aside from her hosting gig, Ballerini was also tapped to deliver an opening speech and perform - both became highlights of the ceremony.
Kelsey Ballerini Delivers Emotional Speech About Gun Violence
During the opening of the 2023 CMT Music Awards, Ballerini delivered a speech highlighting gun violence after the shooting incident in a school in Nashville that left several people, including three 9-year-old students, dead.
She noted that the US already has 130 mass shootings this year alone, and connecting it to her own experience made her even more emotional.
"I wanted to personally stand up here and share this moment because, on Aug. 21, 2008, I watched Ryan McDonald, my 15-year-old classmate at Central High School, lose his life to a gun in our cafeteria," she said. "Tonight's broadcast is dedicated to the ever-growing list of families, friends, survivors, witnesses and responders whose lives continue to forever be changed by gun violence."
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She spoke about a similar incident in an interview in 2021, during which she said she immediately thought "life is short" when she witnessed it.
Ballerini also embraced the public and told them that CMT Awards aim to make people feel like music can turn into action that can create change for the safety of everyone.
Kelsey Ballerini Performs With "RuPaul Drag Race" Queens
Ballerini left a more impressive impression when she took the stage and performed with the queens of "RuPaul's Drag Race." They performed "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)," a single from her 2022 album, "Subject to Change."
CMT's official Instagram page proudly presented Ballerini as a proud supporter of the Trevor Project and its work with LGBTQ youth.
Fans React to Kelsey Ballerini's CMT Awards Moments
One said, "kelsea ballerini making a point to speak out about gun violence in schools and then going on to perform with drag queens at the CMT awards she's hosting, we love to see someone actually use their platform for good."
"Kelsea Ballerini singing a song about killing your husband while bringing out drag queens on a COUNTRY stage is the level of political wokeness I love to see," another wrote.
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