Lainey Wilson won the night at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards, taking home four awards out of the six categories she was nominated in, including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Female Vocalist of the Year. On the other hand, Kelsea Ballerini arrived with three nominations and walked away with no awards.
Afterward, The Voice coach took to her Instagram Story to share a meme from Mean Girls that addressed her reaction to the situation. She shared photos of Lacey Chabert in the classic “And none for Gretchen Weiners” scene. Her boyfriend, Chase Stokes, also reacted to the losses by posting a video of Ballerini’s performance from the show with the caption, “Entertainer of the Year. Goodnight.”
Ballerini was nominated in the coveted category for the first time but lost to Wilson, who took home the honor for the second year in a row. Ballerini also lost to Wilson in the Female Artist of the Year category, while both ladies lost to Ella Langley and Riley Green for Musical Event of the Year and Visual Media of the Year, respectively.
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Over the years, Ballerini has been left disappointed by awards show results. At the ACMs, she’s been nominated a number of times, but only won once when she took home New Female Vocalist of the Year in 2016. Of her 12 nominations at the CMA Awards, she’s only won twice (“Half of My Hometown,” her collaboration with Kenny Chesney, took home Music Video of the Year and Musical Event of the Year in 2021.)
Ballerini has also been recognized five times at the Grammy Awards, but never won in any of her categories. At the 2024 show, it was an all-too-familiar scene as she lost to Wilson in the Best Country Album category. Her reaction afterward went viral, as critics thought she looked annoyed by the results.
“You can be bummed for your loss and happy for somebody else’s win at the same time,” Ballerini said at the time. “Two things can be true and both hold valid and valuable space. The face reading and reaction analysis is unnecessary and hurtful to everyone. A woman’s win is a team win.”