Kelsea Ballerini delivered a powerful and poignant opening speech at the 2023 CMT Awards on Sunday, paying tribute to the victims of the Nashville school shooting. Ballerini began her speech by naming all the victims, three of them being 9-year-old children and three elementary teachers – Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney, Hallie Scruggs, Dr. Katherine Koonce, Cynthia Peak, and Mike Hill.
The country pop singer/songwriter was one of the two co-hosts, along with Kane Brown, for the CMT Awards. Ballerini emotionally stared into the camera during the opening of the show, referencing the tragedy from March 27th, and how three children, along with their friends and teachers, “walked into The Covenant School and didn’t walk out.”
“The community of sorrow over this and the 130 mass shootings in the U.S. this year alone stretches from coast to coast,” said Ballerini before she recalled her own personal experience. “I wanted to personally stand up here and share this moment because on August 21, 2008, I watched Ryan McDonald, my 15-year-old classmate at Central High School, lose his life to a gun in our cafeteria.”
“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,” said the Tennessee-native, who has been open about her gun violence experience that happened in her hometown of Knoxville. “I pray — deeply — that closeness and community we feel for the next few hours of music can soon turn into action, like real action, that moves us forward together to create change for the safety of our kids and our loved ones,” Ballerini said as she ended her speech to begin the awards ceremony.
Along with her hosting responsibilities, the singer also performed her single “If You Go Down (I’m Goin’ Down Too,)” joined by four drag queens as her back-up dancers. She was joined by RuPaul’s Drag Race alum’s Manila Luzon, Olivia Lux, Kennedy Davenport, and Jan Sport. The colorful and confetti-filled performance came as a political statement after a judge blocked an anti-drag law from taking into effect.
Ballerini has been receiving support from those admiring her political positions. Many Twitter users expressed their appreciation for the way the singer is using her platform to comment on nation-wide issues. Television writer and producer, Carina Adly Mackenzie, retweeted Ballerini and commented, “Kelsea Ballerini kicking off the CMT Awards with an earnest, gut-wrenching plea for common sense gun control & then filling her stage with drag queens for a song about solidarity. My kinda country.”
Another user tweeted a picture of Ballerini with her drag-queen stars and stated “kelsea ballerini performing with drag queens on a country music award show AND talking about gun violence/control….she’s a fucking icon.” She truly is.
Kelsea Ballerini kicking off the CMT Awards with an earnest, gut-wrenching plea for common sense gun control & then filling her stage with drag queens for a song about solidarity.
My kinda country. ❤️❤️❤️ https://t.co/xghINXTyWr
— carina adly mackenzie (@cadlymack) April 3, 2023
kelsea ballerini performing with drag queens on a country music award show AND talking about gun violence/control… she’s a fucking icon pic.twitter.com/KHb1ykDdnX
— dakota (@duhxkota) April 3, 2023
Ballerini made for an unforgettable host, and her powerful stance on gun control and pro-drag – especially at an event whose fans are usually associated with conservative viewpoints – has us looking forward to seeing how else she utilizes her platform to speak out on political issues.
Top photo: Screen grab from “Kelsea Ballerini Performs “IF YOU GO DOWN (I’M GOIN’ DOWN TOO)” from @CMT on YouTube
