Kelly Carnes has broken her silence after the Baltimore Rock Opera Society fired her over her braided hairstyle.
Carnes, who also uses the moniker “AWOL,” was ousted as executive director of BROS on Sept. 23, just nine days after the group proudly announced her hiring on Instagram. The termination followed a board meeting on Sept. 22 and a social media firestorm over a video showing the white arts administrator wearing cornrows at an organizational event shortly after returning from Burning Man.
Carnes told The Baltimore Banner she was stunned by the decision. “I believe the circumstances surrounding my termination raise serious questions about discrimination, governance, and whether the values BROS presents publicly are actually extended to the people it employs,” she wrote in an email to the outlet. She added that she is “exploring those issues with counsel.”
The group had celebrated Carnes’ arrival with fanfare on Sept. 14, posting on Instagram that “BROS is excited for the new stories about to unfold under AWOL’s leadership as she supports us in our 7,000 year mission of incredible rock theater.” The post marked a major public-facing moment for the volunteer-driven rock opera collective.
The tone shifted dramatically within 48 hours. After the controversial video surfaced, BROS removed it from social media without explanation, then posted a follow-up statement acknowledging the move had caused confusion. “We regret removing the video without an explanation and take responsibility for the confusion that [it] caused,” the organization wrote on Instagram, adding, “more importantly, we are taking action.”
Carnes maintained she chose the style for purely practical reasons. She said she braided her hair as a “protective style” against the dusty Nevada desert conditions at Burning Man, a nine-day festival, and kept the look for the subsequent BROS function. The style featured cornrows along the top transitioning into long braids and extensions, she explained.
She emphasized she had communicated this context directly to BROS leadership when concerns first arose. “That is the same context I shared with BROS when concerns about my appearance were raised,” she wrote to The Banner. She also noted she had been willing to engage with critics: “I was also clear that I was willing to listen and speak directly with anyone who was genuinely confused or concerned.”
A photo from Carnes’ time at Burning Man shows her from behind in a “Mad Max”-style outfit, steering a doorless, roofless Ford truck. The post’s caption reads, “I’m always a little weird when I get back from Burning Man. Please give me a minute to re-integrate into the default world, ty.”
Cat Litten, marketing and communications representative for BROS, declined to discuss Carnes’ departure in detail when reached by The Banner. “Right now, our leadership and community are entirely focused on doing the necessary internal work of improving the overall experience for our community and edicated volunteers for now and the future,” Litten said.
The video that triggered the controversy was taken down from social media, though it had already circulated widely enough to prompt the board’s Sept. 22 meeting and subsequent leadership change.