The CEO of the Academy of Country Music Awards is speaking out after Beyoncé didn't receive any nominations for her Cowboy Carter album.

On Thursday (March 27), the ACM Awards unveiled its 2025 nominees for its upcoming ceremony on May 8, and notably absent was Bey and her revolutionary country album.

The snub comes off the heels of Cowboy Carter winning several Grammy Awards, including Country Album of the Year, Best Country Duo/Group, and Album of the Year.

ACM CEO Damon Whiteside addressed Bey's absence from the nominations, noting that Grammy voters may have been quicker to embrace the singer's jump into country music than ACM voters.

“Were we hoping she’d be nominated? Absolutely,” Whiteside said in a statement.

“I think, more likely, they’re going to be voting for artists that they’ve got relationships with and work with on a regular basis and that are in the country music business 365,” he added of ACM voters.

Despite the snub, Whiteside said Bey has an "open invitation" to the May 8 ceremony.

We’d love to have Beyoncé on the show. She has an open invitation to be on the ACM stage anytime she ever wants to.”

Beyoncé was also notably left out of the CMA Awards nominations list last September.

During her Grammy's acceptance speech for Best Country Album, Bey encouraged other artists to push past the boundaries that genres can place on music.

"I think sometimes genre is a code word to keep us in our place as artists. And I just want to encourage people to do this," she said, in part. "Stay persistent."

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Christina Martinez