Carly Pearce on why she kicked rude heckler out of Minnesota show: 'I'm so tired of being afraid of standing up for myself'

Country singer Carly Pearce isn't afraid to stand up for herself anymore. After a video clip of the musician kicking out a rude heckler went viral, Pearce shared why she chose to bite back at the heckler.

On Friday, Aug. 2, the Grammy Award-winner addressed a heckler at her show at WE Fest Country Music Festival in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.

In a video posted by radio personality Ian Godfrey on X, Pearce is shown asking that a rude audience member be escorted out of the show after her shouted at her.

“Somebody get him out of here. I don’t want him at my show," she says. "Get out of my show...If you’re gonna be an a**hole, you’re gonna have to say it to me and get the f*** out of my show.

"I do not have time for d***s," Pearce says as fans cheer her on. "See you later!”

After the audience member was led out of the show, Pearce said, "Words hurt. That hurt me. That was not nice."

"And I’m just here to tell you guys, be kind," she continued. "Do not say mean things to people just to be mean. Don’t think that there aren’t consequences for it. It is not kind. It is not right. And I do not believe that he should have been at my show if he is going to speak to me like that.”

In a following post, Godfrey said he was only able to confirm that the man yelled "no one cares" when Pearce told the audience she wanted to say something about herself.

“That is the first time I have ever sent somebody out of one of my shows," she said.

"But if somebody is going to be that mean and disrespect me, you are not welcome,” she said.

Carly Pearce opens up on why she had concertgoer kicked out

In an interview with Ashley Morrison on iHeartCountry’s US 103.5 in Tampa Bay, Florida, Pearce discussed the incident.

“I guess people are learning a new side of me, but the boys do it all the time," she said.

"This is no different. If somebody’s going to show disrespect at my show, get out," Pearce added. “So many people think that they’re not gonna be reprimanded for their actions."

"He hit me in a moment where my ‘Kentucky’ came out full-force, and I just, I’m so tired of being afraid of standing up for myself," Pearce said.

Audrey Gibbs is a music reporter at The Tennessean. You can reach her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why did Carly Pearce kick someone out of her show? Singer opens up