Dolly Parton Doesn’t Think Beyoncé Was Purposely ‘Shut Out’ Of CMAs, Despite Her Receiving Zero Nominations For ‘Cowboy Carter’

Dolly Parton Doesn’t Think Beyoncé Was Purposely ‘Shut Out’ Of CMAs, Despite Her Receiving Zero Nominations For ‘Cowboy Carter’

Country music icon Dolly Parton is sharing her thoughts on Beyoncé’s CMA snub.

The “Jolene” songstress explained that she doesn’t think the organization failed to recognize Beyoncé’s recent project out of spite, but rather out of respect for other artists.

Dolly Parton, 78, was asked about Beyoncé, 43, being “shut out” of the Country Music Awards during a recent interview where she stated:

“There’s so many wonderful country artists that, I guess probably the country music field, they probably thought, well, we can’t really leave out some of the ones that spend their whole life doing that. But I didn’t even realize that until somebody asked me that question.”

Dolly Parton

Going on to praise the 32x Grammy Award winner’s “Cowboy Carter” album, Dolly Parton continued:

“But it was a wonderful album. She can be very, very proud of, and I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good. So I don’t think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose. I think it was just more of what the country charts and the country artists were doing, that do that all the time, not just a specialty album.”

Beyoncé Cowboy Carter coverart

As recently covered, Beyoncé fans worldwide were disappointed after the CMAs announced their nominations and opted not to include the singer’s record-breaking project. In case you’re unfamiliar with the album, Cowboy Carter was released earlier this year and debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart. One of the project’s lead singles “Texas Hold’ Em” became the musician’s ninth #1 in the US, and earned her the accolade of becoming the first Black woman to top the country music charts.

Overall the project was critically acclaimed, though Beyoncé’s unique approach to genre blending sparked widespread discussion about whether or not it’s an authentic country project. However, features from a few country artists such as Linda Martell, Shaboozey, and Dolly Parton herself certainly supported the singer’s right to call the project country.

Parton, who championed Beyoncé’s rendition of her hit classic “Jolene” which is also featured on the album, went on to share her personal thoughts about the album and the controversy about it being country, stating:

“I thought that was a great album. She’s a country girl in Texas and Louisiana, so she grew up with that base. It wasn’t like she just appeared out of nowhere.”

Do you think Beyoncé was “shut out” of the CMAs? Tell us in the comments below!

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