Watch Trisha Yearwood’s Heartwarming Speech As She Receives Inaugural June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award

Trisha Yearwood

Trisha Yearwood made history on Sunday, April 7, as she became the first-ever artist to receive the CMT’s new June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award at the 2024 CMT Music Awards.

Yearwood, 59, kicked off her award acceptance speech with a joke that quickly got her audience laughing.

“I will say, it’s nice to know you won before you got here," she quipped.

The mood then shifted as she began to praise the late June Carter Cash in an emotional speech that touched upon her own experience in the country music genre. Event organizers later shared video of her speech on X.

“June Carter Cash was a force, and she was also married to a force," Yearwood said in a nod to her own husband, fellow country star Garth Brooks. "I know a little bit about a life like that. And I know it wasn’t always easy, but she found ways to make sure to keep shining her own light, and she had no bigger fan than her husband, Johnny Cash. I also know a little bit about that.”

Carter Cash was "one of the most fierce, one of the coolest, most passionate women that I was also very lucky to know," the “She’s in Love with the Boy” singer gushed. "And I knew her just a little bit, but it didn’t take long to see that she embodied the very essence of what this award’s about.”

Yearwood went on to thank two of Carter Cash's children, John Carter Cash and Carlene Carter, “for allowing my name to be said in the same sentence as June’s.” Both John and Carlene attended this year's ceremony in anticipation of the award presentation.

As she finished her speech, Yearwood voiced the "hope" that she has for her fans and fellow artists moving forward. “My hope is that we can all learn a little bit from June Carter Cash’s legacy, and be a little bit more real, be a little bit more vulnerable, be a little bit less about 'me,' and a little bit more about 'us.'”

Event organizers announced last month that the "XXX's And OOO's" singer would be the inaugural recipient of the new Carter Cash-inspired award. It was created to recognize artists who, like Carter Cash, have demonstrated “an exceptional dedication to the community and their fellow artists.”

“Trisha has a unique ability to rally a community, whether that may be families in need with Habitat for Humanity or uplifting her fellow artists and entertainers trying to carve a path in the industry,” a group statement from the executive producers of the CMT Music Awards said.

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Yearwood “embodies the bold strength of June, who tirelessly devoted herself to service and community, and the namesake for this award,” the statement, shared in a March 25 press release, continued. “Both multi-hyphenate trailblazers eloquently crafted a script for others to model, letting their hearts and authenticity guide their personal, professional and public lives.”

Speaking with the Austin American-Statesman ahead of the April 7 awards show, Yearwood said she was "so happy to be in the same sentence" as the "force" that was Carter Cash. Even so, Yearwood said it was almost "awkward" to accept the award because "I don’t know if you ever would feel like you deserve it." She told the paper that she is viewing the award as "a call to me to step up my game."

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