opinion
Beyoncé dropped two country songs earlier this month while also announcing that she's working on a country music album that will be released later this year. Since then, she has faced backlash for trying to switch genres. Something every artist has to deal with when they make this move.
But it's unfortunate that this backlash has now become all about race, with country music fans being painted as “racists” if they dare say they don't want Beyoncé taking over this beloved genre.
Backlash against Beyoncé
On Wednesday, Greo published an op-ed titled “Beyonce Makes Country Album.” White people like John Schneider need to get over it.” This was partly in response to Schneider of “Dukes Of Hazzard” fame comparing Beyoncé to a dog peeing when asked about her foray into country music.
“Leftists in the entertainment industry aren't going to leave any area alone, are they?” Schneider was asked, according to the Daily Mail. “They just have to control every aspect, right?”
“They have to make their mark, just like a dog at a dog walking park. You know, every dog has to make a mark on every tree, right? That's what happens here,” Schneider answered.
Full Story: 'The Dukes of Hazzard' Star John Schneider Criticizes 'Left-Wing' Musicians — Comparing Beyoncé to a Peeing Dog
White people are told to 'get over it'
In her op-ed for Grio, writer Monique Judge sparked backlash over Beyoncé's take on the whole race thing, arguing that white people “never wanted us to thrive in areas they considered their own.”
The judge went on to respond directly to Schneider's comments, blatantly accusing him of racism.
“Let's understand that 'leftists' in this case is not a political statement; it's a euphemism for a word that I can't write here, but it starts with an 'N' and ends with a hard 'ER.'
The judge is clearly trying to promote the narrative that all country music fans are inherently racist, but that is simply not the case at all. We only have to look at black country music star Darius Rucker, who admitted that he was told that fans would “never accept a black country singer.”
“To be honest with you, I didn't think I was going to have a lot of success. And when I started working on radio stations and stuff, people would say to me, to my face, 'My audience will never accept a black country music singer,'” he told ET Canada last summer. “That's the thing where I was thinking, 'Okay, just play the record, let's see?'” And then they did.
Fortunately, country music fans immediately accepted Rucker, as his debut single “Don't Think I Don't Think About It” debuted at No. 1 on the Hot Country Songs charts.
“I wasn't worried about it because I just want to make records, you know?” He said. “I mean, I wasn't going to sit down and say, 'Oh my God, you know, I'm going to be the black man in the country.'
RELATED: Beyoncé Declares We Must 'Dismantle the Racist and Inequitable System'
It's not about race
Despite Judge's arguments that any backlash Beyoncé receives is racially motivated, the truth is that all musicians get backlash when they try to switch genres, regardless of their race. When Taylor Swift initially transitioned from country music to pop music, she found herself in a dilemma, because the pop world didn't want her and the country world was mad at her for abandoning it.
Gwen Stefani and Miley Cyrus are two other artists who have been criticized when they try to deviate from their genres, yet fans have not been accused of racism for criticizing them.
In the end, country music fans have every right to tell Beyoncé that they're not interested in her taking over the genre, and they shouldn't be accused of racism for simply voicing their opinion.
What do you think of this? Let us know in the comments section.
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