'Shut Up': Kelsea Ballerini Silences Haters After Singer Was Trolled for Pantsless Performance at CMT Music Awards

Kelsea Ballerini can pull off any fashion look — even one with no pants.

On Sunday night, April 7, the blonde beauty hosted the CMT Music Awards for the fourth year in a row, and also graced the stage for a breathtaking performance of a new, reimagined version of her debut single, "Love Me Like You Mean It."

For the performance, Ballerini changed into a dazzling ensemble — which featured a gold, long-sleeved leotard and black see-through tights. Following the show, social media trolls mocked her online for "forgetting her pants," however, the 30-year-old didn't let haters do so without putting up a fight.

Ballerini took to TikTok to clap back at critics, as she felt confident in the couture and most definitely stunned!

"'You forgot your pants for your performance' — shut up. No I didn’t," the "I Quit Drinking" vocalist mimicked in response to haters. The clip was taken backstage while her glam team touched up one of her numerous looks for the awards show. "'Where are your pants?' Shut up. It looks hot. Period. Bye."

Ballerini also used the social media app to connect with fans about her hosting gig at various times leading up to the show.

A couple weeks back, the "Miss Me More" hitmaker shared a video discussing how she was preparing to meet with producers about her hosting script before asking fans what they wanted to see on the show.

"Give me a funny word I'll work it into the script. Let's just make it fun. I'm really excited this year about being involved and making it whatever you want it to be," she expressed.

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One fan commented, "you have to work 'yeah, sure, OK' in there somewhere," — and Ballerini sure did!

"Challenge accepted. I will sneak 'yeah, sure, OK' into the script tonight and only the people that see this video will understand," the country singer declared in a follow-up video moments before the show. "It's just gonna be our thing. Will I get in trouble? Stay tuned."

At one point during the star-studded evening, Ballerini explained how the CMTs called [her]" and asked, "'Hey will you host the CMTs for the fourth year in a row' and there was really only one appropriate response and it was 'yeah, sure, OK."

The interactive moment caused fans in the audience to break out into a sea of laughter.

Ballerini even included her boyfriend, Chase Stokes, in her monologue, as she playfully pretended to read his mind while trolling social media users for constantly trying to lip-read celebrities during awards shows this year.

The "Better Luck Next Time" songstress has been dating the Outer Banks actor since January 2023.