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Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
Entertainment
Alexandra Del Rosario

Maren Morris has a Halloween costume in mind thanks to Tucker Carlson's insult

Months after Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson dubbed her a "lunatic," county star Maren Morris has turned the insult into a Halloween costume — kinda.

In an Instagram picture posted Thursday, "The Middle" singer tried her hand at a trending meme of fake Spirit Halloween costumes, which users have used to imagine up costumes for everything from an unprepared hiker to the Duolingo owl.

Her costume set? A "Lunatic Country Music Person."

"Includes: tambourine, inclusive fans, pickleball paddle, wig, beef with transphobes, tall guy not included," advertised the singer's photoshopped Spirit Halloween pack.

While the outfit is not be available on Spirit Halloween shelves, Morris' costume got plenty of love from fellow artists in the comments. Cassadee Pope replied with a cry-laughing emoji, Julia Michaels said she's "obsessed" with Morris and Mandy Moore simply called the Instagram post "genius."

Carlson insulted Morris in August when the singer criticized Brittany Aldean, the wife of country star Jason Aldean, for a transphobic Instagram post. In the caption of her post, Aldean took a dig at gender-affirming treatment and surgery.

"It's so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie," Morris tweeted about Aldean.

Days later, Carlson interviewed Aldean on "Tucker Carlson Tonight" about the backlash. While doing so, he took shots at Pope and Morris, calling the latter a "fake country music singer."

Instead of taking Carlson's swipe personally, Morris turned it into funds for the transgender community.

She released black shirts that touted her name, the phrase "Lunatic Country Music Person" and the phone number for the Trans Lifeline peer support and crisis hotline for trans youth. The singer said that all proceeds from the shirt, which sold for $35, would go to GLAAD's Transgender Media Program and Trans Lifeline.

Just a day after debuting the cheeky merchandise, Morris said her fans raised more than $100,000. She told the Los Angeles Times in September that she sees Carlson's comment "as a badge of honor."

"I think just the culture of misinformation that goes along with trans youth is where I was coming from. It's not, 'Oh, this is bad, and this is good, and we can agree to disagree,'" she said. "No, we can't, and you are being fed information that is false. And even though you're not the one with the bullet in the gun, your words matter. Your disinformation matters."

Morris, whose "Humble Queen" is up for album of the year at the CMA Awards, also told the L.A. Times that she's on the fence about attending the annual country music celebration.

"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," she said. "But as of right now, I don't feel comfortable going."

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