Why Ella Langley Chose Kaitlin Butts to Play the Mean Girl in Her ‘Choosin’ Texas’ Video [Exclusive]

Kaitlin Butts isn't scared of a fight.

During a recent conversation with Taste of Country, the singer admitted that it's kind of a running joke in her touring band that she won't let bad behavior slide.

She doesn't start conflict, she clarifies — but when someone comes at her with rude or mean comments, everyone who knows her knows that that person has "met the wrong one today."

Maybe that's part of the reason that Ella Langley — an old friend of Butts' — picked her to star as the girl who bullies her in a bathroom in the star-packed music video for "Choosin' Texas."

"[My character] was just mean. She wasn't reacting, she was just being mean. I cornered her," Butts says with a laugh. She adds that even though she's no stranger to confrontation, she'd never pick on someone the way her "Choosin' Texas" character did.

Why Did Ella Langley Pick Kaitlin Butts to Co-Star In Her "Choosin' Texas" Music Video?

Butts — who grew up doing musical theater and already has pretty sharp acting chops — says Langley knows her well enough to know that she could play that role.

"That was just the plot, and [she] knew that if I wanted to be fiery, I could," Butts says, adding that that "fire" is something she and Langley — plus another "Choosin' Texas" co-star, Miranda Lambert — all share.

READ MORE: The Top 10 Kaitlin Butts Songs

"Where you're just like, you know who not to mess with," she explains.

But Langley had another, even more important, reason for wanting to include Butts in her music video.

Ella Langley Wants to Pull Other Talented Country Music Women Up to Stardom With Her

Casting Butts was a way for Langley to give a career boost to a friend whose talent she believes in and supports.

"She wanted to pull somebody up with her, too," Butts points out.

Langley's supported Butts' music before: She once posted a TikTok of herself lip-syncing to Butts' song "You Ain't Gotta Die to Be Dead to Me," and that helped fueled the song's rise up to viral fame.

Butts says that Langley is "a very busy woman" these days, but that she'll still call now and again, and is quick to offer support or advice on navigating the music business.

"Our conversations are simple, easy, silly," Butts continues. "She's younger than I am, but I still look up to her and seek advice. She's also very ready to give advice that I think she knows I want and need, without me having to ask."

READ MORE: Ella Langley Reveals She'll Tour Again in 2027

Langley is one of several women who've extended a hand to Butts as a young, rising woman in country music.

"As a girl doing this, there are tools and things to learn along the way that I'll call Lainey [Wilson] about, or Ella," she continues. "Miranda Lambert has reached out and said, 'If you need anything, just holler.'"

"Knowing that those people are at arm's length, it's comforting, because this is not for the faint of heart," Butts adds. "It's for tough girls. Tough people in general. To just put yourself out there, it's really scary, but we love it enough to keep doing it."