She’s not okay… A Texas judge was recently kicked out of a Megan Moroney concert at the Houston Rodeo after what sounds like an attempt to use her position to secure a spot close to the stage. Moroney headlined the annual rodeo’s main stage concert on Tuesday night at NRG Stadium. But yesterday, Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo released a statement accusing the rodeo of sexism after she was kicked out of the concert for trying to access the “chute” area of the floor without a pass during the concert. According to the statement from the judge (in Texas a county “judge” isn’t a judicial officer, but rather an elected official who presides over the county commission), Hidalgo attempted to take some guests – including a fellow elected official and her children, as well as the parents of a recently-deceased veteran – to the chute area, which she says she has “always done.” But security at the rodeo stopped Hidalgo and told her and her party that they couldn’t be there because they didn’t have wristbands: “I have always been allowed on the dirt based on the county’s relationship with the rodeo, regardless of wristband. Nobody has ever told me I needed a special pass to access the dirt.” Hidalgo says that she tried to ask for her guests to be allowed to enter the area, but accuses rodeo staff of “shoving” her and threatening her with arrest: “When I tried to ask that my guests be let in, the rodeo committee members first said the kids could stand in the back, but then proceeded to block the kids and mom from entering, grabbed me, shoved me, and threatened to arrest me. Even after I offered to leave if it meant that my guest and her kids were allowed to stay and finish watching the concert, the rodeo removed her and the kids from the dirt entirely. I had already been removed from the dirt.” Hidalgo claims that she wasn’t trying to use her position for personal benefit, but was simply trying to help her constituents get a better spot at the concert. “In my role as Harris County Judge, I have never accepted anything inappropriately or used my role to personally enrich myself even though many others have… I did not want to prevent the committee members from doing their jobs, nor was I trying to take advantage of ‘privileges’ or call in favors. I was not even interested in seeing the concert. I was only interested in helping community members enjoy an important event.” The elected official then goes on to question whether a male elected official would have been treated the same way: “I felt disrespected, threatened and physically unsafe – as did my guests and the kids. … I wonder, if I had been a male county executive, would they have reacted the same way? Would they have thrown a male Harris County executive’s guest with their young daughter and son out of the Harris County stadium? Would they have gone up to a male guest’s children and yanked them out of a seat? I will not go near that area again. But I have never felt so unempowered as a woman as I did yesterday.” After posting the letter, Hidalgo posted video and audio showing her conversations with security. In the first video, the judge can be heard arguing with security as they’re kicking her out of the arena: And in another video, a security officer can be heard telling Hidalgo that she had wristbands for the next five nights of shows but would have to leave, while the judge protests that she was “manhandled” and pushed and demands to be allowed back in to get proof: She also shared two short video clips, but neither appear to show any contact between rodeo officials and Hidalgo or anyone in her party. And unsurprisingly, the Houston Rodeo is pushing back against the judge’s allegations. In a statement released today, the rodeo claims that Hidalgo had requested chute tickets for Moroney’s show but because the show was sold out (and because they had given her chute tickets for five shows already), they weren’t able to accommodate her request. “Judge Lina Hidalgo has attended the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on three occasions prior to March 10, each time with wristbands provided by the Rodeo for her and her guests to watch from the chute seats. In total, 21 tickets were provided to her across those visits, including for the J Balvin, Forrest Frank and Luke Bryan concerts with a total value of close to $9,000. … On March 10 we received information that the Judge wanted to attend the Megan Moroney concert, along with Creed, Chris Stapleton and Shaboozey concerts, all on the dirt. Because the Megan Moroney concert was sold out and she’d already had chute seats several times prior, we had multiple conversations with members of her team and the Houston County Sports and Convention Corporation informing them that she did not have wristbands and was not authorized to access the dirt or chute area that evening. She was aware of this prior to arriving and did not have the required wristbands to enter the area.” The rodeo says that Hidalgo is the only elected official who requested ANY tickets to the rodeo, and instead of chute tickets had tickets in a suite for the Megan Moroney concert. Despite not having chute tickets, the rodeo says Hidalgo still attempted to enter the area and was stopped by security who told her to return to her suite: “Our team respectfully addressed the situation, but the interaction became difficult for staff and security. There were numerous law enforcement officers who were present and none saw any physical harm including “manhandling.” Ultimately when she would not go back to her designated seats in the suite, she was escorted out.” The rodeo also pushed back on any suggestion that she was treated unfairly because she’s a female or Hispanic: “As Chairwoman of the Board, the idea that she was treated this way because she’s a woman or Hispanic is absolutely false and insulting.” NEW: "We are very disappointed in Judge Hidalgo's actions…" | RodeoHouston has just released new details on the dust up with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, which resulted in her removal from the Megan Moroney concert earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/boSbCjzeWm — KPRC 2 Bryce Newberry (@KPRC2Bryce) March 12, 2026 Now, obviously we haven’t seen any video of the initial confrontation or the alleged “manhandling” of Hidalgo, but from what we’ve seen so far it definitely sounds like an elected official trying to use her position to get to the good seats, and getting upset when flexing her power doesn’t work… Of course we’ll have to wait and see whether any more evidence of Hidalgo’s claims comes out, but I have a feeling she probably won’t be there for the Chris Stapleton or Shaboozey concerts this week.The post Texas Judge Accuses Houston Rodeo Of Sexism After Being Kicked Out Of Megan Moroney Concert first appeared on Whiskey Riff.