Osborne’s fellow country star Kacey Musgraves was among those registering her dismay, writing on Twitter: “Massively disappointed in TN House Republicans for blocking my friend @TJOsborne for being honored because HE’S GAY!?”.

… The country music artist, TJ Osborne.

We’re talking about a country music singer, y’all.

Maren Morris, who had Brothers Osborne collaborate on “All My Favorite People” on her most recent album, retweeted the Tennessee Holler’s tweet, which said, “@JeremyFaison4TN and the @tnhousegop block a resolution to honor out gay country music star TJ Osborne of the @brothersosborne for no reason other than blatant bigotry and spite.

Osborne is not the first country music artist to come out as gay, he is the first and currently only openly gay artist signed to a major country label” and adds that “though it may have been merely a consequence of being true to himself, he has nonetheless become a trailblazer and a symbol of hope for those country music artists and fans alike who may have become ostracized from a genre they hold dear.”

Much to the chagrin of the sizable gay community in Nashville and the country music industry, Tennessee has become renowned across the country in recent years for legislature like the so-called “anti-gay adoption bill,” which allowed religious foster care and adoption agencies to continue to receive taxpayer funding regardless of discriminating against prospective gay parents

In April, more than 40 businesses associated with Nashville’s music industry signed an open letter to members of the Tennessee General Assembly, saying a number of bills under consideration were “misguided and would codify discrimination” against LGBTQ Tennesseans

Among the dozens of signees proposing a more “open, welcoming, and inclusive environment” and predicting “disastrous” consequences from slate of bills were Apple, Big Loud, Big Machine, CMT, Curb Records, Kobalt Music, Maverick Management, Q Prime South, Sony Music Nashville, Spotify, Third Man Records, Universal Music Group Nashville, Warner Chappell Nashville and Warner Music