The Country Music Association has lifted a controversial media restriction that banned red carpet reporters from asking about the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting at next week's show. CMA has since apologized for the misguided restriction after one of the show's co-hosts blasted the organization on Twitter.
On Nov. 3, Brad Paisley, tweeted, "I'm sure the CMA will do the right thing and rescind these ridiculous and unfair press guidelines. In 3…2….1….."
The CMA Awards, known as "Country's Biggest Night," will take place on Nov. 8. It's co-hosted by Brad and Carrie Underwood.
On Nov. 2, CMA sent out its media guidelines to approved red carpet reporters. The guideline said that reporters were to refrain from asking questions about "the Las Vegas tragedy, gun rights, political affiliations or topics of the like." Doing so, the CMA team said, could lead to credentials being "revoked via security escort."
In their media guidelines, the association said the restrictions were "out of respect for the artists directly or indirectly involved" and they wanted everyone "to feel comfortable talking to press."
The Las Vegas tragedy has hit close to home for the country music world. Jason Aldean was on stage at the Route 91 Harvest Festival, a three-day country festival, when a gunman fired into the crowd from an adjacent hotel, killing 58 people and injuring more than 500. It's the biggest mass shooting in United States history.
The CMA restriction didn't sit well with reporters or even country artists.
Previous CMA winner Marin Morris, who played the Route 91 festival the day before the shooting, tweeted, "Country music has always been about the truth. Out of respect for the Las Vegas victims, let's keep it that way."
Singer Cam tweeted, "THANK YOU, @BradPaisley – this is embarrassing and has been taken way too far. You can encourage respect without silencing people, #CMA."
About an hour after Brad's tweet, CMA apologized and removed its restrictions, saying, "The sentiment was not to infringe on and was created with the best of intentions to honor and celebrate country music."