Kelsea Ballerini Fires Back at Critics After Going Pantsless at the CMTs

Kelsea Ballerini is firing back at fashion critics.

The 30-year-old singer went through a total of nine outfit changes when she hosted the 2024 CMT Music Awards on Sunday, April 7. She took to TikTok to defend one outfit in particular — a gold sparkly bodysuit featuring no pants.

“‘You forgot your pants for your performance’ — shut up. No I didn’t,” Ballerini said in a video uploaded that same night.

“‘Where are your pants?’ Shut up. It looks hot. Period. Bye,” she continued before laughing and ending the video.

Ballerini filmed the TikTok in a black smock while getting her hair and makeup done, presumably for yet another outfit change. She captioned it simply, “😘.”

Her fans laughed along in the comments. “Me feeling attacked because I asked myself ‘where are her pants’ as you were performing. 😂😂,” one wrote.

Fellow country singer and friend Megan Moroney commented, “Hahahahaha iconic.”

Ballerini teamed the long sleeve bodysuit with a pair of black sheer tights. She wore matching gold eyeshadow and styled her hair up in a slicked-back ponytail.

She wore the memorable outfit during a performance of her hit song “Love Me Like You Mean It,” which debuted in 2014.

Ballerini released a slowed-down version of the song on Friday, April 5.

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“Ten years ago, I was twenty, naive, starry eyed, and absolutely relentless on putting my music out into the world,” she wrote in an Instagram caption that same day. “I’m proud to say, nothing has changed…except a DECADE of this wildly beautiful journey we’ve gotten to share full of tours and sing alongs, wins and losses, and growing up together.”

This was Ballerini’s fourth time hosting the CMT awards. Since 2021, she has co-hosted the show with singer Kane Brown.

“[Hosting] was the first thing that I did outside of music really, that allowed me to ask myself the question: What else? Like, what else can I do?,” Ballerini told Variety in an interview published on Sunday, April 7. “And I’m ready to ask myself that question again, and I really want to give myself the space to see what else there is. Never say never — I will never say that I won’t come do this again. I love it. I just am excited to see what else I can do.”

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