Beyoncé’s Dad Mathew Knowles Slams CMA Awards for ‘Cowboy Carter’ Snub

There are a lot of Beyoncé fans who are unhappy with the CMA Awards for snubbing Cowboy Carter in this year’s round of nominations, and her dad, Mathew Knowles, is leading the charge. 

In an interview with TMZ published Monday (Sept. 9), the 72-year-old executive slammed the country music institution for failing to recognize his daughter in any of the 2024 categories, in spite of Bey delivering one of the biggest country albums of the year. For reference, Cowboy Carter not only topped the Billboard 200 for two weeks, but reigned at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart for a full month. Plus, lead single “Texas Hold ‘Em” made the 32-time Grammy winner the first Black woman to hit No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs ranking, a position it held for 10 weeks. 

“There’s more white people in America and unfortunately they don’t vote based on ability and achievements, it’s still sometimes a white and black thing,” Knowles told the publication. “In America, there’s no accountability for people not being accepting of other cultures.” 

Bey’s father also said that his daughter didn’t have a good experience performing with the Dixie Chicks at the 2016 CMAs, and that the award show never apologized to her. Before the superstar even took the stage with the country trio to sing Lemonade‘s “Daddy Lessons,” viewers who took issue with Bey’s pop music fame and/or her tribute to the Black Panther Party during that year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show called for a boycott; after the performance, there was no mention of her appearance on the CMAs website. 

Billboard has reached out to Bey’s rep and the CMAs for comment. 

Ironically, Cowboy Carter may not even exist without the CMA Awards. In a March post on Instagram, the “16 Carriages” singer wrote that the album was “born out of an experience” she’d had years prior where she “did not feel welcomed,” which many fans took to be the 2016 controversy. 

“Because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” Bey added at the time. “It feels good to see how music can unite so many people around the world, while also amplifying the voices of some of the people who have dedicated so much of their lives educating on our musical history.” 

Even though the CMAs isn’t recognizing Beyoncé this year, her peers definitely are. Several country legends came out in support of her country pivot following the release of Cowboy Carter — with Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson even making guest appearances on the record – while first-time CMA nominee Shaboozey celebrated his nods by giving the Destiny’s Child alum a shout-out. 

“Thank you @Beyonce for opening a door for us, starting a conversation, and giving us one of the most innovative country albums of all time!” he tweeted.