"Feels almost racist" — Internet reacts to Luke Bryan telling Beyoncé to "come into our world" if she wants to do country music

Luke Bryan recently addressed the controversy surrounding Beyoncé's country album, Cowboy Carter being snubbed at the 2024 Country Music Awards, despite topping the charts. During a September 30 interview with Andy Cohen, the country singer said that just because an artist made a country album, does not mean they are automatically owed awards.

He added that country music has been all about community and family, saying Beyoncé should "come into our world" if she wanted to be acknowledged.

"Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it. But where things get a little tricky — if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit," he said.

"Like Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to. She’s probably the biggest star in music. But come to an award show and high-five us and have fun and get in the family too. And I’m not saying she didn’t do that…but country music is a lot about family,” he added.

His comments faced immense backlash on social media. Many criticized Bryan for his rhetoric, dubbing it "racist."

Several agreed with the sentiment, disparaging Luke Bryan for how he phrased his opinion.

"I'm trying to figure out where exactly 'their world' is. White people will say something like, come to our world,' and then deliberately give you the wrong directions," one person tweeted.

"We know exactly what he means. F**k that whole genre. When we start listening to more black country singers aligned with our values all of the sudden Luke Bryan will find religion. Just trash," someone else added.

"“Be country with us for a bit” she was country before some of your colleagues decided to be to win a Grammy," another netizen commented.

Others pointed out the irony of Beyoncé needing to prove her worth in the country music genre as a Black artist from Houston, Texas.

"Keith Urban is from Australia and y’all basically made him the face of the genre. But the girl from Houston needs to prove she’s part of your world?" one person questioned.

"Telling a Black woman from TEXAS she’s not country enough is just….if white people don’t have s**t else, they got the audacity.." another person added.

"Come into OUR WORLD !!!! OUR WORLD ???????? THE world she GREW UP IN ??? Mind you Luke Bryan was born in GEORGIA ! How dare you give yourself the power to INVITE, or ACCEPT a Woman from Houston Texas into Country culture ? Come high five us...lmaoooo the same low lives that spitted on her when she performed with The Chicks. Be for real!" someone else said.

"Country music’s supposed to be for everyone, so why does Beyoncé have to PROVE herself more than anyone else? Isn’t great music enough??" another user asked.

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Beyoncé said Cowboy Carter was created after an experience of feeling unwelcomed

When Beyoncé announced Cowboy Carter in March 2024, she said the album was born out of an experience she had in the past, where she did not feel welcomed.

“This album has been over five years in the making. 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. But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive.The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” she wrote on Instagram.

Fans inferred that she was talking about her performance of Daddy Lessons with The Chicks at the 2016 CMAs, following which the singer faced immense backlash. She added, the experience made her delve deep into the history of country music, saying the criticisms she faced pushed her to rise to the occasion.

Cowboy Carter was released on March 29, 2024. The album has been a mainstream success, topping country music charts and making her the first Black woman to achieve the feat. Her song Texas Hold 'Em also hit No. 1 on Billboard's country song chart. However, when she released Cowboy Carter, she made it a point to stress the album was not a country album, it was a Beyoncé album.

Despite the album's success, it failed to receive any CMA nominations. Many fans claimed the singer was snubbed by the awards show. Beyoncé has yet to make a comment related to the issue.

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Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter is Act II of a trilogy, with her 2022 album Renaissance serving as the predecessor.