Beyoncé's new documentary Call Me Country: Beyoncé & Nashville's Renaissance charts the singer's journey into the genre. However, it also targets the 2016 CMAs over alleged racism.
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In 2016, the singer performed alongside the Dixie Chicks for the ceremony. Her performance garnered backlash from many critics calling out Beyoncé for not being country music. They felt it was diluting the genre. However, one attendee is claiming that it was actually old fashioned racism at play instead.
"An audience member in front of me proceeds to say, 'Get that black b---h off the stage right now,'" attendee Tanner Davenport claims during the documentary. "I remember instantly kind of being taken back to reality in that moment. To realize that there's, like, a threat of black people being in this genre for some reason."
The CMAs called Beyoncé's performance "a highlight of the evening" at the time. However, the singer soon garnered a lot of hate and backlash online after the appearance. "For Beyoncé to not be welcomed feels like a gut punch," Davenport said. It was reported that even Alan Jackson walked out on her performance. However, there's now some doubt on whether the country singer was even in the crowd when Beyoncé was performing.
Beyoncé Launched New Album
Beyoncé took the criticism to heart. With her new album Cowboy Carter, the singer tackled the genre straightforwardly, getting the help of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson for cameo roles. She explained the album came directly from the backlash she experienced then. Beyoncé has experienced more backlash for the new album as well.
She wrote, "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. 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."
"The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me. Act ii is a result of challenging myself. And taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work," she wrote.
