Travis Tritt doesn’t think country music needs any help from Beyoncé, or any pop artist, for that matter.
Last week, the country star tweeted up a storm following Yoncé’s appearance at the CMA Awards. Bey performed her hit “Daddy Lessons” with The Dixie Chicks, garnering some confusion from country fans.
Many people were unsure why the “Lemonade” singer was performing at the award show. Among those people was Tritt, a longtime country music performer, who was less than impressed with the Country Music Association’s decision to have Bey at the show.
In his opinion, the performance was just an unnecessary ploy for ratings. Tritt’s Twitter rant began on Nov. 3, when he sarcastically criticized the mixing of pop music with country music.
“As I see it, country music has appealed to millions for many years,” he wrote. “We can stand on our own and don’t need pop artists on our awards shows.”
Tritt also responded to plenty of fans and followers ― some who agreed with him and others who disagreed. Some users also called Tritt racist for his remarks. Race was a large part of the discussion around this year’s CMA Awards after it appeared the Country Music Association scrubbed its social media of Beyoncé’s performance.
However, the musician maintained that his argument was never about race, but instead about his disappointment in the CMAs for thinking “they need pop every year for ratings.” He claimed that he would be disappointed if any pop act, not just Beyoncé, performed at the award show.
He didn’t get his point across without making a few tone-deaf comments, though:
And still, he wondered how people thought he was being racist.