Beyonce's fans believe Dolly Parton took a swipe at the pop superstar during a discussion about her Country Music Awards snub.
Fans of the Texas Hold 'Em singer's album Cowboy Carter were left outraged when nominations for the CMA's were announced last week and their idol's offering failed to land in a single category.
Cowboy Carter, released earlier this year, has been shrouded in controversy. From Country radio stations not putting its tracks on their playlists to country fans and famous figures slamming Beyonce's foray into country music with racist attacks and tropes.
Speaking to Variety about the CMA snub, country legend Parton said in a new interview: "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."
"I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good," she continued.
"I don't think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose," she added.
"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."
Dolly also applauded Beyonce's decision to release a country album, saying: "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."
But while the Jolene singer was being diplomatic and seemingly trying to calm the uproar, it only served to spark more amongst some fans.
"I don't think that Dolly should be making excuses for the CMAs. Bey had the most talked about and loved county singles of the year and they snubbed it. Racism, Period," wrote one fan on an Instagram post under the topic.
Another added: "Dolly dissing Beyonce saying they wanted to acknowledge longterm Country stars is shade. She's basically agreeing with the 'Bey's an outsider narrative'." "I love Dolly, but this ain’t it. This is a fake ally thing defending the artists that do it Country all the time. So what. There’s newcomers and space for all," a third commented.
“Just call out CMA's instead of making excuses. How can you have the biggest selling and most talked about country album of the year and don't get no nominations. Stop the bull, Miss Parton."
Beyonce, who Parton allowed to do a version of Jolene on Cowboy Carter and previously defended strongly when she was attacked during the album's release, is the first Black woman to reach number one the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
Texas-born Beyonce has previously suggested that she made Cowboy Carter after feeling excluded from the genre. "It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed, and it was very clear that I wasn't," she wrote on Instagram in March.
"But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive."
"I kind of find it fascinating because I feel like those songs were everywhere," she told NBC Boston, adding: "That's a hard industry even for me."
Why fans are outraged about CMA snub:
- Neither Texas Hold ‘Em nor Cowboy Carter received nominations in the song or album categories for this year’s Awards ceremony. Beyoncé also did not receive nominations for entertainer or female vocalist of the year.
- Texas Hold ‘Em” was one of this year’s biggest country hits, topping the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 10 straight weeks, making it the second longest-running chart topped of 2024 on that chart behind Shaboozey’s A Bar Song (Tipsy).
- Beyoncé is the first Black woman in history to have a Number One country song with Texas Hold ‘Em and a Number One country album with Cowboy Carter earlier this year.
