Country music star Kelsea Ballerini stunned fans when she invited famous drag queens from RuPaul’s Drag Race franchise to the Country Music Awards stage Sunday.
The star co-hosted the the awards show alongside Kane Brown, and when it was her turn to perform, she belted out a flawless performance of “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too)” with the help of fully costumed drag queens. Ballerini immediately drew criticism from conservatives while simultaneously receiving an outpouring of support. (RELATED: Kid Rock Doesn’t Want ‘Snowflakes’ At His Concert)
Video of the performance shows Ballerini belting out her hit song while interacting with Drag Race queens Manila Luzon, Kennedy Davenport, Jan and Olivia Lux on the stage.
Some of y’all blindly think this trans movement is about individuality and expression, no. It’s a manipulative and sneaky way for big Pharma to have a lock on these people for the rest of their lives. Wake up.
— Tomi Lahren (@TomiLahren) April 3, 2023
Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren blasted Ballerini for using her platform for political messaging.
“Y’all just don’t stop do you?” Lahren wrote in a flurry of tweets. “Does everything have to be a platform to shove the rainbow mafia down our throats? Can you ever just do…idk…country freakin music?!!!!”
if you go down, i’m going down too 🏳️🌈 // thank you to these iconic queens and @manilaluzon @kennedyddoftx @janjanjan @TheOliviaLux and @CMT for celebrating love, self expression, and performance.
📸 John Shearer @GettyImages pic.twitter.com/jZ3JTVI3ny
— Kelsea Ballerini (@KelseaBallerini) April 3, 2023
“The country music INDUSTRY has gone full woke despite actual COUNTRY MUSIC FANS not buying into any of this mess. RIP CMT,” Lahren wrote to Twitter. “Some of y’all blindly think this trans movement is about individuality and expression, no. It’s a manipulative and sneaky way for big Pharma to have a lock on these people for the rest of their lives. Wake up.”