Kelsea Ballerini is coming to Stella Lefty’s defence after the “Thinking ‘bout You” singer ruffled some feathers with her recent appearance at Grand Ole Opry.
Lefty has been in the line of fire from some online critics after she made her Opry debut on Tuesday, September 1. The following day, the Opry shared footage via its Instagram account of Lefty performing her hit “Boston” with two young St. Jude patients.
The video received some negative comments, including accusations that Lefty is a “nepo baby.” (Lefty’s dad is Eric Lefkofsky, the co-founder of Groupon and a CEO of a biotech company.)
Others threw shade at the singer for using Noah Kahan’s “Stick Season” in the hit song while some people expressed their opinion that Lefty didn’t deserve the honor of performing at the Nashville institution.
Commenting on the video, Ballerini, 32, clapped back at Lefty’s haters.
“Opry member chiming in!!” Ballerini wrote. “Yes, the Opry is about honoring the legacies and the people that have inspired both me and her. But, from different backgrounds and hometowns and generations, we can find ways to say and sing things that resonate with people that fill the seats…and that is always the goal right?”
The “Love Me Like You Mean It” singer continued, “This backstage moment is beautiful. And y’all in the comments continue to not honor the people the actual Opry house opens its arms to. It’s about celebration of all kinds of country music…new, old, traditional, current, however you wanna say it. It’s all important, and it should all be able to be shared in our safest and most sacred stage in country music.”
Ballerini further urged, “Celebrate music like the Opry does. ❤️”
In an additional comment, Ballerini continued to emphasize her point of view and stress that the performance was for a good cause.
“DOUBLING DOWN that this is a video of her singing to St Jude’s patients,” she added. “Yall go get some sleep.”
In an interview with Vanity Fair published on August 21, Lefty addressed the “nepo baby” criticism leveled at her because of her father and his billionaire status.
“Obviously there’s going to be this conversation around it, which I totally understand,” Lefty told the publication. “Me and my dad have spoken about this a lot since I even started music. He was like, ‘The truth will set you free.’”
Lefty noted that a benefit of her privileged upbringing was time to work on her craft without pressure to find a way to pay the bills.
“I had the ability to really explore, and I didn’t have a stopwatch. I felt like I had this cushion,” she said.
