What did Luke Bryan say about Beyoncé's CMA Awards snub? Country singer responds to backlash over comments

Luke Bryan recently took to social media to clarify his remarks about Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter being snubbed at the CMAs amid online backlash. The country singer faced flak for his September 30 interview with SiriusXM, where he claimed that Beyoncé should “come into our world and be country with us a little bit.”

When asked his thoughts about her album receiving zero nominations at the 2024 Country Music Awards, Luke Bryan replied:

"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.

His words were met with immense outcry from Beyoncé's fans, dubbed the Beyhive, with many claiming his words felt "almost racist." Several people also said that it seemed unfair to ask a Black woman from Texas to prove herself as a country artist.

Others argued that Bryan's remarks that Beyoncé should "come into our world" were ironic, pointing out the criticisms the singer faced after she performed at the 2016 CMAs. Before her album's release, Beyoncé alluded to Cowboy Carter being instigated by an incident where she felt unwelcomed, which many theorized was a reference to her 2016 CMA experience.

On October 7, Luke Bryan uploaded a post on X addressing the backlash he received, adding that his words were taken out of context from the interview. He accused the media of creating "a false narrative" with "clickbait headlines."

"I am posting tonight based on the ridiculous nature of the headlines I have read the last couple days from an interview on the Andy Cohen show I did this week when I was promoting my album. I feel in my heart I could not let media create a false narrative. As I read thru the comments of some of you I just want to say that I encourage all of you to listen to the interview instead of reading click bait headlines," he tweeted.

Bryan also encouraged people to hear the interview before making assumptions, saying his "tone and intentions" were "not negative." He added that he respected Beyoncé and her loyal fanbase, saying he always supported other artists and wanted everyone to win.

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"Country music is a lot about family" — Luke Bryan about Cowboy Carter's snub at the CMAs

During a recent interview with SiriusXM's Andy Cohen, Luke Bryan expanded on his thoughts about Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter earning no nominations at the 2024 CMAs despite its success. The album topped the country music charts, making the singer the first Black woman to achieve this honor. Her single, Texas Hold 'Em, also topped Billboard's country song charts.

Beyoncé's perceived CMA snub was criticized by many, including her fanbase. Luke Bryan also referenced the backlash the CMAs faced when they first announced the nominations list.

“It’s a tricky question because, obviously, Beyoncé made a country album and Beyoncé has a lot of fans out there that have her back. And if she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you, as fans should do," he said.

However, Luke Bryan added that artists sometimes make great music that gets overlooked, and no artist should ever be nominated simply because they made an album. Bryan said that country music was all about family, urging Beyoncé to come to award shows and have fun with other country artists.

"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,” Luke Bryan added.

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Ahead of Cowboy Carter's release, Beyoncé took to Instagram to unveil her new project and wrote, "This ain’t a Country album. This is a “Beyoncé” album." The LP was the second act of a trilogy of albums that started in 2022 with the release of Renaissance.