After Beyoncé failed to earn any CMA Awards nominations for her 2024 Cowboy Carter country project, fans were divided over the snub: Some thought it was justified, while others saw it as an example of the continuing unequal playing field for Black and female country artists.
But in a Monday (Sept. 10) episode of The View, actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg said that Beyoncé’s exclusion from the awards show was so predictable that she doesn’t understand the uproar.
“A lot of people are surprised — I don’t know why — that it didn’t receive a single CMA Award nomination,” Goldberg said on the show (quote via People.) “Well, this is the question: Are you surprised?
“I don’t think she was snubbed,” she continues, “I think they just didn’t … it wasn’t for them.”
Cowboy Carter was eligible in several categories at the CMA Awards, with the most likely venues for a Beyoncé nomination coming in the Musical Event of the Year or Single of the Year categories.
The album’s lead single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” became the No. 1 song in country music during its first week out, setting or equaling a number of records in the process.
Related: Why Was Beyoncé Shut Out of the CMA Awards?
But Beyoncé also has a tumultuous history with the CMA dating back to 2016, when she gave a polarizing performance at the awards show with the Chicks. She seemed to reference that event when she announced Cowboy Carter, saying that the album was informed by a moment when she did “not feel welcomed” in country music.
Goldberg has a history of shrugging off the concept of “snubbing” at awards shows in general. According to People, she had a similar perspective back in January, when Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig did not receive Oscar nominations for their work in the film Barbie.
“There are no snubs. That’s what you have to keep in mind: Not everybody gets a prize, and it is subjective,” Goldberg said on The View at the time.
Earlier this week, Beyoncé’s father and former manager Mathew Knowles shared his thoughts on his daughter’s lack of nominations, arguing that race was a factor in the CMA’s decision to exclude Cowboy Carter.
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