The Worst-Dressed Celebs At The 2025 CMAs

What is it about country music stars? All year long, they rock the usual Levi's and cowboy hats, but when it comes time for their songs to be celebrated, without fail, we always see some of the weirdest outfits on the red carpet. The 2025 Country Music Association Awards have arrived! All our favorite stars in the world of country music headed to Nashville's Bridgestone Arena to walk the red carpet and celebrate the year's best songs. The red carpet brought out country music staples like cowboy hats, bolo ties, and quantities of sequins that could make even the Rockettes quake with fear.

However, it also brought ensembles with some strange cutouts, bad fabric choices, and a pair of pants made out of many other pairs of pants. Knowing what we know about country music stars and their penchant for bringing chaos to the carpet, we can't say we were too surprised to see a lot of this year's worst-dressed contenders. Yet, we did still manage to see some fashion statements that were truly one-of-a-kind — and not in a good way. After a year of great country music, the red carpet matched the energy of the CMAs, but with some equally great entries in our worst-dressed list.

Upcycling outfits you no longer wear is a great way to revamp your closet. That does not, however, mean you can just add rhinestone trim to anything and make it a whole new fit. This seemed to be what Mickey Guyton must have done to get such an oddly matched set. This looked like a skirt suit turned into a crop top ensemble, and it definitely didn't look right. 

An all-black gown is a pretty safe bet for most red carpets. Colbie Caillat's black gown, however, missed the mark. For starters, the neckline landed in an odd place; it could have been a high-neck or a lower sweetheart neckline, but it threw off her proportions the way it was. Furthermore, the black, feathery mermaid skirt looked like it was covered in little eyelashes, and that was a bit distracting. 

There's a time and place for a leather and lace minidress with a long train, but surely the CMAs were not it. Karley Scott Collins looked out of place in this lingerie-inspired outfit on the red carpet. Her styling, with long, glam waves, high heels, and heavy jewelry, made this dress look less fashion-forward and more BDSM. 

It's easy to understand part of the thought process behind Bella Hudson's CMAs look — a fancy country music event deserves a fancy dress with some country accessories. Unfortunately, this evening gown, paired with a cowboy hat and bolo tie, was a total clash of opposing vibes. This look would have been much better if she ditched the country-inspired accessories altogether, or swapped out her gown for something a bit more casual and whimsical — or less green.

Based on this outfit, we can only assume that Ben Johnson suffers from a severe case of indecisiveness. When it came time to choose a pair of pants to wear to the CMAs, it looks like he just opted to wear them all. His patchwork jeans and matching jacket looked like they were made of multiple pairs of Levi's that were stitched together. A country music event is the perfect place to display your devotion to denim, but this was a bit odd.

We've heard of tossing toilet paper on houses the night before Halloween, but TP-ing television hosts? That's just cruel! Carissa Culiner walked the red carpet in a little black minidress with white asymmetrical fabric details. This look wasn't the worst of this year's CMAs, but it definitely gave us toilet paper vibes — and that's never what you want to think at a fancy event. 

Lanie Gardner rocked a suit on the red carpet in a way that we haven't seen before: her pants and sleeves (with built-in gloves) were entirely black lace. The idea behind this look may have had potential, but the way it was executed just looked like her arms and legs were made of lace and she had nothing but a vest on. Styling it with the big cross necklace made the look even more all-over-the-place.

While talking to his stylist in preparation for this year's CMAs, Asher Angel must have said something along the lines of: "I want to look like I've been impaled on a stick and deep fried." Hey, if that's true, then his stylist deserves a raise, because they nailed this request. It's hard to imagine a way to make a suit this color work, especially in velvet and layered with a white tank top and gold necklaces. Angel's look was far from heavenly.

With her brown leather maxi skirt, sparkly tank top, western belt, printed cowboy boots, and cropped fluffy coat, Arielle Kebbel (from the cast of "John Tucker Must Die") piled on plenty of cool pieces for the CMAs' red carpet. The only problem was that every one of these pieces looked like it belonged to a different outfit. This style was way too busy and full of clashing elements, and it made it hard to know where to look. 

We get it — a silk pillowcase can be a game-changer for your hair routine, but that doesn't mean you should step into your pillowcase and hit the red carpet. Between the color, the fabric, and the silhouette, Willow Avalon's flowing, long-sleeve satin gown gave us bedding vibes, and tossing on a bolo tie didn't manage to make it look any less like a last-minute ghost costume. 

Maybe MacKenzie Porter was en route to see "Wicked: For Good," considering she seemed to be dressed up as the Tin Man, and maybe she got caught up in a twister on the way, because this outfit looked downright destroyed. With its cutouts, patchwork, and asymmetry, this dress had way too much going on, and the metallic silver just wasn't enough to tie everything together for a coherent look. 

As soon as we saw Ana Cristina Cash on the red carpet, we couldn't help but think of the red dress-clad dancing girl emoji. Short of the emoji keyboard, we have no idea where this look would actually be appropriate. Guests take the CMA dress code in many different directions, but any way you slice it, this over-the-top ballgown with dramatic hair and clunky accessories was too much for any award show. 

An all-black look with a cowboy hat is definitely a safe bet for a country music event. Yet, Ne-Yo rocked this look in a way that didn't quite work. If he ditched his big, dramatic coat, this fit probably would have been a winner; something about the cut and furry fabric made his coat look like a bathrobe he tossed on over his outfit. 

From the looks of it, it seems like CeCe Frey picked up any article of clothing that matched her blonde buzz cut and didn't worry about how they looked together. The glittery crop top with the low-rise pants was a bad enough combination before she added the weird, fluffy shawl. Taken together, this outfit belonged in a costume closet and far, far away from the red carpet. 

We're starting to wonder if Lainey Wilson actually wants to make it onto the worst-dressed list. She had already solidified her place as one of the worst-dressed celebrities of 2025 thanks to all of Wilson's fashion disasters this year. She obviously didn't learn anything, because she wore this bizarre outfit for her big hosting gig at the CMAs. Between the sequined jumpsuit, the cape, and the cowboy hat, this head-to-toe green dress was all way too much. While this look was definitely high drama, it was all wrong. 

When your jeans don't fit, it can be very uncomfortable. At a certain point, though, it's simply time to invest in a new pair. In reality, it's safe to assume that Shaboozey's choice to wear two belts with his jeans and printed jacket on the CMAs' red carpet was an attempt at a fashion statement. Unfortunately, the only statement we could glean was: "My pants are way too big."

Leopard print is totally on-trend right now, but Maddie Font's odd, skintight evening gown with the design proved that this fad needs to be used in small doses. Paired with the odd cut of the dress, the style overwhelmed Font. She posed with Tae Kerr on the red carpet, the other half of her wealthy music duo, Maddie & Tae. Kerr proved how much better a long-sleeve, form-fitting dress can look in a solid color.

They say you should dress for the job you want, but it seemed like Lauren Stafford got confused and instead dressed for the award she wanted. A gold suit isn't the worst idea for a fun fashion statement on a red carpet, but this look was just a bit too bold and shimmery. It seemed like it was wearing Stafford and not the other way around. In this case, though, swapping the heavy hair extensions for a sleek ponytail might have made all the difference.