Beyonce’s Father Believes Race Factored Into Her CMA Snub

Beyoncé‘s father, Mathew Knowles, believes that racist voting factored into his superstar daughter’s exclusion from the 2024 CMA Awards nominees list.

Knowles — who managed Beyoncé’s career during her time as a vocalist in pop trio Destiny’s Child, as well as her first ventures as a solo artist — tells TMZ that her awards show snub speaks to a long history of racism in the country format. This year’s voting, he says, shows “it still comes down to white and Black.”

“There’s more white people in America and unfortunately they don’t vote based on ability and achievements,” Knowles adds. “It’s still sometimes a white and Black thing.”

In 2024, Beyoncé was eligible for CMA inclusion based on the March release of her long-awaited country album Cowboy Carter, featuring the record-setting No. 1 hit, “Texas Hold ‘Em.”

The project could have fit in several categories, including Album of the Year, Musical Event of the Year or Single of the Year.

Still, Knowles says that her snub wasn’t a huge surprise “in the current state of American culture,” and that her history with the CMAs specifically makes the exclusion even more predictable. Beyoncé first performed at the awards show in 2016 with the Chicks, with fans returning mixed results on her performance.

When she announced Cowboy Carter, the singer mentioned a previous experience in country music where she “did not feel welcomed” in the genre, seemingly alluding to that 2016 performance.

Related: Why Was Beyoncé Shut Out at the 2024 CMA Awards?

Knowles confirms to TMZ that Beyoncé “didn’t have a good experience” at the CMAs in 2016, and says the organization “never apologized” to her.

He also points out that the banjo, a staple of country music history, is originally an African instrument. Beyoncé’s “Texas Hold ‘Em” prominently features a banjo line, performed by country and Americana mainstay Rhiannon Giddens.

Knowles is also known as the founder of Music World Entertainment, which focused on gospel, pop, hip-hop, R&B and children’s music. In 2016, the label acquired Compadre, a country music catalog including music from Johnny Cash, Billy Joe Shaver, James McMurtry and more.

The 2024 CMA Awards are set to air on Nov. 20 on ABC.