Kelsea Ballerini isn’t here for unsolicited drama.
The country-pop singer responded directly to a heckler who disrupted her Sydney headline show on Sunday night (Dec. 8), calling out “Team Morgan!” while she was performing her emotionally raw 2023 song “Penthouse” — a track widely interpreted as reflecting on her divorce from Australian country artist Morgan Evans.
Ballerini, 32, paused mid-performance to deliver a sharp but composed response. “F—k off,” she said from the stage. “Team ‘everyone is happy’ here.”
The crowd erupted in cheers and applause, clearly siding with the artist as she continued her set.
The moment quickly went viral on social media, with fans applauding Ballerini for setting a boundary and refusing to let the comment go unchecked. Hours later, the Rolling Up the Welcome Mat singer addressed the incident further on her Instagram Stories.
“Respectfully, if anyone yells anything disrespectful to anyone during this song again, it will no longer be on the setlist,” she wrote, adding that the song “Penthouse” holds personal meaning and deserves space for reflection — not heckling.
“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,” Ballerini wrote. “Team everyone’s happy or bust. Please.”
The song in question, “Penthouse,” appeared on Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Ballerini’s 2023 EP that chronicled the unraveling of her marriage to Evans.
Evans, for his part, released his own breakup ballad, “Over for You,” in 2022 — also believed to be a reflection of the split. While both artists have since moved on professionally and personally, the public discourse around their divorce continues to follow them — something Ballerini is now drawing a firm line under.
The Grammy-nominated artist is currently in Australia for a series of headline shows, with the tour marking Ballerini’s first visit to Australia in seven years, and follows her major U.S. arena tour supporting her 2024 album PATTERNS.
The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and includes collaborations with Noah Kahan, Jessie Jo Dillon, and Hillary Lindsey. It also earned Ballerini a nomination for CMA Entertainer of the Year.