Dolly Parton has shared her opinion on Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" album failing to receive a single nomination at this year's CMA Awards.
Fans of the "Texas Hold 'Em" singer's foray into country music were outraged by her snub at the prestigious awards ceremony – but country icon Dolly has taken a diplomatic approach to the controversy.
Sharing her thoughts on Beyonce's lack of nominations, the "Jolene" singer defended the CMAs, blaming the abundance of already established country music artists.
"There's so many wonderful country artists that, I guess probably the country music field, they probably thought, well, we can't really leave out some of the ones that spend their whole life doing that," she told Variety in a new interview.
Dolly is a huge fan of Beyonce's latest record – which included a cover of her hit "Jolene" – and said she should be "very, very proud" of the "wonderful album".
"I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good," she continued.
© InstagramDolly also urged Beyonce and the Beyhive to not look at the record's lack of nominations as a snub.
"I don't think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose," she added.
© Getty Images"I think it was just more of what the country charts and the country artists were doing, that do that all the time, not just a specialty album."
Dolly also defended Beyonce's decision to release a country album, saying: "She's a country girl in Texas and Louisiana, so she grew up with that base. It wasn't like she just appeared out of nowhere."
© InstagramIt's not the first time Dolly has praised Beyonce's genre-bending efforts. She also spoke out in February after the "Halo" singer became the first Black woman to clinch the top spot on the Hot Country Songs chart with her single, "Texas Hold 'Em".
"I'm a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she's done a country album," Dolly wrote on Instagram.
"So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single. Can't wait to hear the full album! Love, Dolly."
© Getty ImagesBeyonce is no stranger to the CMA Awards and performed her song, "Daddy Issues", at the ceremony in 2016 alongside the Dixie Chicks (now called The Chicks), which received a mixed response from country music fans.
Many of her fans have speculated that it was that performance that inspired "Cowboy Carter" after Beyonce said the album came from a moment of exclusion she experienced.
© Getty Images"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," she wrote on Instagram in March.
"But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive."
© NBCDolly isn't the only singer to voice their opinion on Beyonce's lack of CMA nominations. Kelly Clarkson called the decision "fascinating".
"I kind of find it fascinating because I feel like those songs were everywhere," she told NBC Boston, adding: "That's a hard industry even for me."
