In the eyes of Republican Rep. Burgess Owens, the only Black member of Utah’s congressional delegation, Beyonce is no cowboy.
When asked by Nick Ballasy — a video journalist known for interviewing politicians and celebrities on camera — about the award-winning Black artist’s historic win at the Feb. 2, 2025, Grammy Awards, Owens said Beyonce should never have won Best County Album.
“I think that’s the closest thing to DEI we’re going to see right now,” Owens replied, adding that he’s not a fan of country music and is basing his opinion on the responses he’s seen from country music fans.
“You put all that hard work to develop your fan base, you go out there [and] you work to develop a reputation, and all of a sudden somebody comes out of the blue — because she’s popular in something else — and she gets the best,” Owens said. “Nobody respects that. And unfortunately, because of that, Beyonce will not be respected by that core group of people that she’s now singing.”
Owens went on to compare the “fairness” of the Black artist’s country music win to transgender women playing women’s sports.
Along with becoming the first Black female artist to win the Grammy’s Best County Album, Beyonce also won Album of the Year and Best County Duo/Group Performance for the song “II Most Wanted,” a song performed and written with Miley Cyrus, the daughter of country music star Billy Ray Cyrus.
A spokesperson did not quickly respond to The Salt Lake Tribune when asked if they or Owens could further explain why Beyonce’s win was an example of Diversity, Equality and Inclusion. The spokesperson also did not answer if Owens has listened to the “Cowboy Carter” album and what album the congressman thought should have won Best Country Album.
“I want to thank God that I’m able to still do what I love after so many years,” the former Destiny’s Child star said when accepting her golden gramophone for Best Country Album. “I’d like to thank all the incredible country artists that accepted this album — we worked so hard on it.”
“I think sometimes genre is a codeword to keep us in our place as artists,” Beyonce added, “and I just want to encourage people to do what they’re passionate about and to stay persistent.”
In an interview with W Magazine, Miley Cyrus said she told Beyonce, “We don’t have to get country, we are country.”
“You know, between you being from Texas and me being from Tennessee, so much of us is going to be in this song,” Cyrus said she told Beyonce.
“Getting to write a song, not just sing, for Beyoncé was a dream come true,” Cyrus added.
