By The FirstCountry singer Kelsea Ballerini caused controversy on Sunday, opening up the CMT Music Awards with a tribute to victims of the Nashville school shooting–and then danced alongside drag queens. The drag queens who danced with Ballerini were all stars of the show RuPaul’s Drag Race.
The performance came just days after a Tennessee judge blocked a drag show ban hours before it was set to take effect.
“CMT also rolled out the astroturf for RuPaul’s Drag Race royalty, Manila Luzon, Jan, Kennedy Davenport, and Olivia Lux, who joined Ballerini onstage,” wrote CMT. “The queens stayed behind her as she played her pink guitar, but later in the performance, the fierce foursome helped take off Ballerini’s green jacket for a fashion reveal, and the five of them then sashayed down a catwalk, out into the audience as confetti rained down.”
Watch the performance below:
