'They Were So Supportive': Carly Pearce Reveals Lainey Wilson And Kelsea Ballerini Reached Out To Her After Viral Heckler Moment (2024)

Did Carly Pearce's viral heckler moment attract unexpected support from Lainey Wilson and Kelsea Ballerini? Discover how this solidarity amid controversy proves the power of women in country music!

Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce and Lainey Wilson (PC: Instagram)

Carly Pearce's encounter with a disruptive heckler at We Fest in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, on August 2 has been the center of considerable debate. Fans and fellow artists alike have jumped to her defense, while some in country music have criticized her for the incident. Appearing on The Viall Files podcast with Nick Viall on Monday, August 14, Pearce shared the overwhelming support she received from her peers following the encounter, Lainey Wilson and Kelsea Ballerini being among them.

During her set at We Fest, Pearce confronted an unruly attendee who was allegedly disrespectful. The situation reached a boiling point when the Still Blue singer, visibly upset, called for the man to be removed from the concert as per a video shared on X formerly known as Twitter. Captured by local radio host Ian Godfrey, Pearce addressed the disruptive man in the crowd, saying, "If you're gonna be an assh---, then you're gonna have to say it to me and get the f--- out of my show." According to Godfrey, the man had yelled “no one cares” when Pearce tried to engage with the crowd, which led her to address the situation directly as reported by PEOPLE.

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Pearce's reaction received mixed reviews: while most people supported her for standing up for herself, others criticized her language and approach. Reflecting on the aftermath, Pearce admitted she was initially concerned as the incident went viral. "That’s how I knew it got viral," Pearce said on the podcast. "I was like, ‘Uh oh. This is not good." Despite the divided reactions, she admitted on the podcast that she found comfort in the support she received from the women in her country music tribe.

In a conversation with PEOPLE earlier this month, Pearce discussed the broader implications of the incident, expressing a desire for change in how society expects women to tolerate disrespect. “You can’t be mean to people and expect people to tolerate it,” she said.

As per what Pearce shared on the podcast, Lainey Wilson and Kelsea Ballerini, both prominent figures in country music, reached out to Pearce and the Woman to Woman singer got texts from Lainey and Kelsea within five minutes of each other. “They were so supportive, and it was girls aligned in that moment,” Carly mentioned.

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Additionally, Pearce also noted that the support from Wilson and Ballerini was particularly meaningful. She remarked, “Nobody really understands. The females in country music, there are so few of us.” Pearce found that this kind of support from her peers, who genuinely built her up, was profoundly comforting.

She elaborated, “When you have that kind of support from people you love who genuinely build you up, they’re like ‘I see you’ and they understand it on a level that others might not.” It can be accessed by this that For Pearce, having fellow artists like Wilson and Ballerini at her side helped pull some of the pressure off the back of a stressful situation and urged the solidarity of women, particularly in personal and public struggle.

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