NEED TO KNOW
- Kelsea Ballerini told a concertgoer to “f— off” after they yelled “Team Morgan!”
- The country superstar was previously married to fellow singer-songwriter Morgan Evans
- The exchange happened while Ballerini sang “Penthouse,” which was inspired by her divorce
Kelsea Ballerini is asking for respect at her shows.
The Grammy-nominated singer, 32, called out a concertgoer during a headlining set in Sydney on Dec. 6 after the attendee shouted her ex-husband Morgan Evans’ name while she performed an emotional track.
In footage shared on social media, Ballerini can be seen singing her song “Penthouse” to cheers from the crowd before an attendee yelled “Team Morgan!” which was immediately followed by boos from the audience. After telling the individual to “f— off,” Ballerini rolled her eyes and went on to say, “See? Everyone’s happy,” with a smile on her face; she then gave a thumbs-up to fans before throwing up her middle finger with a smile on her face.Kelsea Ballerini on Oct. 29, 2024, in New York City
“Penthouse” appears on Ballerini’s acclaimed 2023 EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, which she wrote and recorded in the aftermath of her divorce from Australian singer-songwriter Evans, 40.
The song includes the lyrics, “It hurts putting s— in a box / And now we don’t talk / And it stings rolling up the welcome mat / Knowing you got half.”
Ballerini took to her Instagram Stories to comment on the incident after the fact, writing: “respectfully, if anyone yells anything disrespectful to anyone during this song again, it will no longer be on the setlist. please let this be a song that matters to people and not a place to insert yourself into a world that doesn’t exist and was never yours to begin with. team everyone’s happy or bust, please.”
Ballerini filed for divorce from “Kiss Somebody” singer Evans in August 2022 after nearly five years of marriage, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE at the time.
“They’ve been working on their marriage for a very long time. Prior to this, they had separated privately once before and have been in therapy for several years,” a source told PEOPLE amid the divorce. “They gave it their best go but unfortunately arrived at the decision to formally separate.”
Ballerini and Evans first met in March 2016 during a co-hosting gig at Australia’s CMC Awards. The two were engaged shortly after in December of that same year, and tied the knot about one year later in Mexico.Kelsea Ballerini on June 6, 2025 in Nashville.
In an April 2025 PEOPLE cover story, Ballerini opened up about how chronicling the “intense” period of her divorce on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat was healing for her.
“I was going through what my parents did, and I went back to writing songs simply because I had to,” Ballerini she said of finding peace in songwriting “I was like, ‘I have to get it out of me.’ My intention putting it out was to show other sides of heartbreak — to have more narrative, especially for women, around life changes and divorce.”
Following her split from Evans, Ballerini dated on-off boyfriend Chase Stokes for about three years before a rep for Ballerini confirmed to PEOPLE that they had gone their separate ways in September 2025, though they later sparked reconciliation buzz when they were spotted on vacation together in Europe.
The country superstar — who released her latest EP, Mount Pleasant, in November — is on the final leg of her Patterns Tour, with three shows left in Australia.
