The country queen has spoken.
Dolly Parton is the latest celebrity to weigh in on the controversy regarding Beyoncé’s country album Cowboy Carter, which was noticeably snubbed by the Country Music Association for this year’s awards.
Despite releasing hit country song “Texas Hold ‘Em,” Beyoncé’s debut country album didn’t receive a single nomination, and now Parton, a legend in the country music industry, is giving her two cents on the matter.
Speaking to Variety in a new interview published Tuesday, Sept. 17, Parton said, “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.”
The “9 to 5” singer went on to praise Cowboy Carter, which features a cover of Parton’s own hit song, Jolene: “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.”
However, Parton argued the notion that Beyoncé was “shut out” from the award show.
“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,” she expressed.
But Parton’s argument didn’t have everyone convinced, as some users on social media pointed out that the “specialty album” explanation didn’t apply to Post Malone, who also released his first country album this year, but unlike Beyoncé, was nominated for four CMA Awards.
“Yall [sic] are saying this but they also nominated Post Malone who wasn’t a country artist either until this year so which is it?” one fan called out.
Meanwhile, others still praised Parton for her “graceful way of explaining” how the industry works, with one person tweeting, “The CMA’s can be tough, but Beyoncé’s versatility shines no matter the genre!”
Elsewhere in her interview with Variety, Parton acknowledged Beyoncé’s southern routes, seemingly defending the “Single Ladies” singer by reminding us, “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,” Parton added.
The website for the Country Music Association notes that this year’s nominees were “determined by 6,609 eligible voting CMA members comprised of professionals within the Country Music industry.”
The artists with the most nominations include Morgan Wallen with seven, Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton each with five, and Post Malone and Lainey Wilson, each with four.
The 58th Annual CMA Awards air live Wednesday, Nov. 20, on ABC.