Singer TAYLOR SWIFT was far from amused when BRAD PAISLEY and CARRIE UNDERWOOD joked about her break-up with CONOR KENNEDY during their opening monologue at the CMA Awards earlier this month (Nov12).

The We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together hitmaker split from 18-year-old Kennedy just days before the prizegiving ceremony on 1 November (12), and co-hosts Underwood and Paisley poked fun at their pal Swift by referencing her short-lived romance at the beginning of the show.

Paisley asked, "Are they ever gonna get back together?" And the Before He Cheats singer said, "Never... Ever... Ever."

The camera quickly panned to the crowd to catch a few audience members' reactions, but Swift wasn't shown and she explains to the New York Times, "They don't pan to you if you're not laughing."

Meanwhile, an event spokesperson has since spoken out to defend Underwood and Paisley's humor, telling radio station Country Aircheck, "We're not trying to hurt anyone with the monologue, we're just trying to be funny and entertaining... You never know for sure how they're going to take it. Most of the time, I think we hit it pretty well. In that case, (the camera man) couldn't tell, so he didn't want to cut to her. It's better to err on the side of being conservative."