Lainey Wilson's career is red hot. She is a four-time Female Vocalist of the Year at the Country Music Association Awards. She also just hosted, performed, and won at the latest CMAs. In other words, she knows what she is doing, and she is doing it very well.
But she also understands two key things. One is that one's career success (or even failure) is not completely of their own making. Many others help along the way, and it is impossible to reach the level of success that Wilson has all on her own. Even great artists need a bit of assistance.
She also knows she isn't the only talented woman working in country music currently. The issue might be that some of those women do not get the attention they deserve, and many tend to favor only male artists.
Lainey Wilson sets the record straight about women working in country music
For instance, in the Entertainer of the Year category for 2025, which Wilson rightfully won, she was up for the honor alongside Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, and Morgan Wallen (all men). Wallen's albums seemed destined to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard album charts, but that doesn't make them better than Wilson's work.
While accepting the Entertainer award, Wilson dropped some brutal truth on fans who don't appreciate the female artists as much as they should. There could be no mincing of her words.
She said, "I’m so proud to be in this (female vocalist) category with these women...(Miranda Lambert has) sat around a fire with me and told me what to do, what not to do, and it is because of women like you (that Wilson is so successful)...And for the folks that are sitting at home in your mama’s basement eating your Cheetos trying to pit women against each other, y’all need to find something better to do."
The last part appeared to reference the "drama" surrounding Ella Langley and Megan Moroney, who some have speculated have been involved in a bizarre love triangle with Riley Green. This was mostly driven by social media trolls and has recently been dismissed as false.
Still, the sad part is that many of these trolls tend to focus on female artists. The gender bias is real and sad. Talent is talent, and Lainey Wilson, and her other Female Vocalist of the Year nominees (as well as many others), Kelsea Ballerini, Lambert, Langley, and Moroney, are exceedingly talented and deserve to be heard just as much as any male musical act.