Columbia Nashville If you’re scandalized by the fact that Maren Morris appears in the new issue of Playboy, the “Girl” hitmaker wants to remind you that no less a country legend than Dolly Parton also took some tasteful, non-nude photos for the magazine back in 1978.
As part of Playboy’s 20Q, Maren talks about sexuality, body image, marriage, pop crossovers, fitting into the country mold, and much more. She confesses that “locking into becoming an established country artist…has been daunting.”
“It’s where I’m comfortable; it’s what I grew up in,” she continues. “But I’m sick of the standards we’ve been forced into, and it scares me that I’m getting so fed up with certain norms.”
As an example, Maren cites posting a photo of a Parkland shooting survivor and losing “probably 5,000 followers” on social media.
Maren does admit that she’s “speaking such a loud, noisy concept of what it means to be a woman in the music industry right now,” but notes, “I could just shut up and sing, keep my head down, not talk about politics or sexuality in my songs, [but] sometimes it’s [about] letting it all be a little more freewheeling.”
And Maren has no regrets.
“Every time I’ve spoken up or clapped back at some troll, it has been very much me,” she says. “I wouldn’t go back on any of it, because they deserved it.”
Maren also feels a responsibility to stand up for her fellow female country artists.
“I’m just trying to say, while I have the success and while I’m here, why aren’t any of my friends getting played [on the radio]?” she asks. “I want to shine a light while I have it and not let it be just about me.”
You can read Maren’s full Playboy article online now.
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