Fletcher and Kelsea Ballerini Become Better, Queerer Selves in Meet-Cute Music Video

It’s 2023 and Fletcher has thrown down the queer gauntlet! She opened the year on stage with Miley Cyrus, performing “Midnight Sky,” with Miley draped over her like a handwoven bisexual throw blanket, at one point holding hands while Miley stroked her thumb and noozled against her neck. And now, less than one full week into the year, Fletcher has released a new music video collab with country pop star Kelsea Ballerini. And not just any collab. A love/heartbreak collab full of sapphic making out that ends with Fletcher and Kelsea in a cafe meet-cute.

See, because Fletcher was with this other girl. And Kelsea Ballerini was with this guy. (I think they were in the same house, which is maybe haunted? TBD.) And it was all early days good times, but it fell apart like these things often do. Fletcher and Kelsea sing about how it’s tough stuff that the next person always gets the better version of you — and then they bump arms while brooding about their exes and drinking coffee in a diner, which is one of the top ten gay ways to meet. They smile shyly. It’s the start of something new!

You might be wondering what’s going on behind the scenes of this video drop, and don’t you worry! I have answers! According to the journalism I did on TikTok, Fletcher and Kelsea went out together a couple of nights ago and got blasted on Tequila while previewing the new video. Fletcher called Kelsea “Rambo” — which, incidentally, is what Che Diaz called Miranda in the new Sex and the City when she was turning her gay — and they danced and drank and watched themselves sing. Then, the next day, after what was very clearly a sleepover, they put their hair into matching buns and popped on some eye masks and posted teasers for the video at literally the exact same second, spooning their phones together on the table.

Exhibit A: Rambo

@fletcher

tell @Kelsea Ballerini you want it

♬ Better Version – FLETCHER & Kelsea Ballerini

Exhibit B: Ram-boo?

@fletcher

tomorrow 10 am est @kelseaballerini

♬ Better Version – FLETCHER & Kelsea Ballerini

What does all this mean? Well, bare minimum it means Fletcher is DARING you to out-queer her this year, issuing a challenge for the ages. I’ll leave the rest up to you.

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Heather Hogan

Heather Hogan is an Autostraddle senior editor who lives in New York City with her wife, Stacy, and their cackle of rescued pets. She's a member of the Television Critics Association, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, and a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer critic. You can also find her on Twitter and Instagram.

Heather has written 1719 articles for us.

14 Comments

  1. I love when Autostraddle posts quality content like this.
    After all,if it wasn’t for Riese’s article, I would still think becky from becky’s so hot is actually becca, Lesbian Jesus’ Girlfriend.

  2. If anything, I would like to see less Fletcher content on this site and more political articles. Fletcher and everything by her is a hype I can’t understand in the slightest. Had a cis-man made “Becky’s so hot” about his ex-girlfriend’s new gf, I’m not sure if queer women* had been so nonchalant about it.

      • hello there, you don’t need to share mehran’s criticism, but telling someone to “lighten up” is condescending. do you know how many times people have said sexist, racist, homophobic, transphobic stuff and or told “jokes” on other people’s expense, and when i rejected it, they told me to “lighten up”?
        you can make your point and explain why you disagree, or just write “agree to disagree”. sure, people are different. but please remain respectful about it. thank you.

          • Ok so I can see that you are intentionally condescending. In that case, I will respond once and then no longer waste my time.

            I am beyond tired with the normalization of violence, stalking and objectification of women* in language, songs, literature, movies and by every-day-life people. As well as the romanticization of said issues, or selling them as something that is “hot” or “edgy.” I am very much used to cis-men doing or defending this as well as dismissing criticism as insignificant, and it is frustrating when people on a queer and feminist website engage in this behavior as well. All of this contributes further to the culture of violence that so incredibly many people live in and it real consequences.

            While I am well aware that many queers do not share my opinion about the “Becky’s so hot” song, disagreement can also be expressed with respect, which you choose not to engage in. Goodbye

  3. I appreciate the investigative journalism to provide the background info.

    Also, is the “handwoven bisexual throw blanket” available on the Pendleton website yet? Or do we have to wait until Pride?

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