Carly Pearce made headlines recently for kicking a heckler out of her show, and in a new interview, she says she’s finally standing up for herself.

Perace was on stage at WE Fest 2024 on Friday (Aug. 2) when a heckler caused her to stop her show and address him directly, saying, “Somebody get him out of here. I do not want him at my show. Get out of my show.”

“If you’re gonna be an a–hole, then you’re gonna have to say it to me and get the f–k out of my show,” she continued, in a far cry from her usual demeanor.

“He hit me in a moment where my ‘Kentucky’ came out full-force, and I just, ‘I’m so tired of being afraid of standing up for myself,'” Pearce tells iHeartCountry’s Ashley Morrison of US 103.5 in Tampa Bay, Fla.

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“I guess people are learning a new side of me… If somebody’s going to show disrespect at my show, get out,” she adds.

Elsewhere in the interview, Pearce says that she has endured people “spreading hate” via social media.

Parker McCollum took the stage after Pearce to headline the second night of the annual country music festival.

WE Fest 2024 wrapped on Saturday (Aug. 3) with sets from Tanner Adell, Jackson Dean, Paul Cauthen and Elle King before headliner Eric Church closed the night out.

Sterling Whitaker is a Senior Writer and Senior Editor for Taste of Country. He focuses on celebrity real estate, as well as coverage of Yellowstone and related shows like 1883 and 1923. He’s interviewed cast members including Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Sam Elliott and Harrison Ford, and Whitaker is also known for his in-depth interviews with country legends including Don Henley, Rodney Crowell, Trace Adkins, Ronnie Milsap, Ricky Skaggs and more.