CMA Awards host Luke Bryan weighs in on Beyoncé Cowboy Carter snub: ‘Have fun and get in the family’

When you’re Beyoncé, everyone and their grandma seems to have an opinion on what you do. Or what happens, or doesn’t happen, for you. The latest comes courtesy of the Country Music Association Awards, which failed to shine any light on Bey’s Cowboy Carter album.

Some called it a snub, others disagreed, but as with most things Beyoncé, it got folks talking. Now CMA Awards host Luke Bryan has weighed in on CC’s lack of nominations, and he thinks that Bey oughta just “come to an award show and high-five us” to show she’s part of the country family.

Bryan chatted with Andy Cohen on his Sirius XM show Andy Cohen Live, where Cohen asked the CMA Awards host his thoughts on the alleged snubbing.

“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,” Bryan said, referring to the notoriously ride-or-die Beyhive. “And if she doesn’t get something they want, man, they come at you, as fans should do.”

Is that what fans should do? Bryan’s advice leans a bit into stan culture, and that can get very toxic, as explored in the Beyoncé-channeling series Swarm and has become prevalent in social media.

Bryan continued, noting that “a lot of great music is overlooked,” and putting out an album doesn’t guarantee a nomination. One might assume, however, that if that album is critically acclaimed, commercially successful, and brings a whole new audience to country music, that would warrant some acknowledgment, but that’s not always the case.

“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it,” Bryan explained. But before we go any further, did they though? Carlene Carter, country star and daughter of the legendary June Carter, put out a statement upon the release of Cowboy Carter in support of Beyoncé after she “caught wind of some negativity over the release.”

“As a Carter Girl myself and coming from a long line of Carter Girls, I’m moved to ask why anyone would treat a Carter this way? She is an incredibly talented and creative woman who obviously wanted to do this because she likes country music,” Carter said. “In my book, she’s one of us Carter women and we have always pushed the boundaries by trying whatever music we felt in our hearts and taking spirit-driven risks.”

Bryan continued, “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. 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.”

Things certainly do get tricky there. Especially considering that Cowboy Carter was born out of an experience in which Beyoncé went to an awards show, with the then-(still?)-disgraced The Chicks in tow, and was treated in a downright unneighborly manner by some folks in the audience.

“I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” Beyoncé wrote in a post revealing the Cowboy Carter album cover and motivation. “But because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive. 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.”