“Let’s Not Twist The Message”: Shaboozey Came To Megan Moroney’s Defense After Backlash For Her AMAs Comment
When Megan said The Carter Family “basically invented country music,” Shaboozey’s seemingly side-eye went mega viral.
You know country singer Shaboozey.
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On May 26, he presented the Favorite Country Duo or Group category at the AMAs in Las Vegas alongside fellow country artist Megan Moroney.
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Reading from the teleprompter, they shared who won awards at the very first American Music Awards. “Country music has been an important part of AMA history. The very first year of this show, the award for favorite male country artist went to the great Charley Pride,” Shaboozey said.
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Megan added, “That same year, favorite female artist went to Lynn Anderson, and this award [favorite country duo or group] went to the Carter Family, who basically invented country music.”
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The Carter Family is an American folk music group that profoundly influenced country, rock, and the 1960s American folk revival with songs like “Wildwood Flower” and “Wabash Cannonball.”
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One person wrote, “The gag is she was being shady or whoever wrote that was. Because why mention this now out of all years? Just saying this crap because of Cowboy Carter’s controversy and Beyoncé informing y’all about the influence blacks have had on country music.”
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When Megan started receiving hateful comments for that statement about the Carters, Shaboozey posted a comment in her defense on her May 27 Instagram post.
On Megan’s post about attending the AMAs, the “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer wrote, “Just want to clear something up: my reaction at the AMAs had nothing to do with Megan Moroney!”
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“She’s an incredibly talented, hard-working artist who’s doing amazing things for country music and I’ve got nothing but respect for her,” he continued. “I’ve seen some hateful comments directed at her today, and that’s not what this moment was about.”
“Let’s not twist the message – she is amazing and someone who represents the country community in the highest light,” Shaboozey finished.
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Shaboozey also posted to his X account to discuss the history of country music, apparently as a response to the discourse surrounding the Carter Family and the viral AMAs moment. “When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased…,” he wrote.
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In a second post, Shaboozey wrote, “The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike.”
Listen, regardless of Shaboozey’s facial expressions and online debate, there’s enough information out there to clear up any confusion on the history and origins of country music. I recommend checking out Ken Burns’s 16-hour docuseries Country Music. If that’s not your speed, I suggest reading Andrew Chow’s 2019 Time article, “Black Artists Helped Build Country Music — And Then It Left Them Behind.”
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In Andrew’s article, he referenced how the Black influence on country music began with the banjo, an instrument that is a descendant of West African lutes that were brought to America by slaves. When the instrument was popularized and appropriated through minstrel and blackface shows it “deeply informed the rise of hillbilly music, a term that would later be rebranded as ‘country music.'”
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The Black influence on country music is undeniable, and it doesn’t matter if you listen to June Carter or Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
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