‘The View’ moderator shared her thoughts on Beyoncé’s lack of nominations for the superstar’s debut country album ‘Cowboy Carter’

Whoopi Goldberg (left) and Beyoncé. Photo: Steve Granitz/FilmMagic; BLAIR CALDWELL

Beyoncé fans may have been disappointed by the superstar’s lack of nominations for Cowboy Carter at the 2024 CMA Awards, but Whoopi Goldberg says she doesn’t understand the fuss.

“A lot of people are surprised — I don’t know why — that it didn’t receive a single CMA Award nomination. Well, this is the question: Are you surprised?” Goldberg, 68, said on the September 10 episode of The View. “I don’t think she was snubbed, I think they just didn’t… it wasn’t for them.”

Beyoncé’s debut country album boasted one of the year’s biggest hit singles, “Texas Hold ‘Em.” Cowboy Carter also featured collaborations with contemporary country artists like Malone and Shaboozey along with one of the genre’s pioneers, Linda Martell.

Cowboy Carter, which was released March 29, reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and made Beyoncé the first Black woman to top the Hot Country Albums chart. The singer also earned top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with a cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” as well as “II Most Wanted” featuring Miley Cyrus.

Beyoncé and daughter Blue Ivy at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 4, 2024.Francis Specker/CBS via Getty

Fellow View panelist Sunny Hostin said she was dismayed that Beyoncé was left off the CMA Awards nominations list — particularly after Parton appeared on Cowboy Carter to introduce “Jolene.”

“I happen to love Dolly Parton, so I felt that when the Queen of Country sort of passed the baton a little bit for ‘Jolene,’ which was an incredible song on her album, and ‘Texas Hold ‘Em,’ two incredible country songs, I thought she would at least get nominated for those two,” Hostin, 55, said. “But, my mother always told me, ‘Find the audience that’s looking for you.’ This audience isn’t looking for her.”

But Goldberg has consistently rejected the notion of “snubs” in entertainment awards. In January, when Margot Robbie and Greta Gerwig were passed over for Oscar nominations for Barbie, she made her thoughts clear.

“There are no snubs. That’s what you have to keep in mind: Not everybody gets a prize, and it is subjective. Movies are subjective,” Goldberg said on The View at the time. “The movies you love may not be loved by the people who are voting.”

Whoopi Goldberg (left) and Margot Robbie (as Barbie).Rob Kim/Getty Images; Jaap Buitendijk/Warner Bros.

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC. Meanwhile, the 58th Annual CMA Awards will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 20 from 8 to 11 p.m. ET on ABC. Hosts, performers and presenters have yet to be announced.