A CMA rep has explained why the Beyonce & Dixie Chicks duet is absent from the show's website.
After many country music fans and social media users demanded an explanation, a rep from the Country Music Association released a statement to Billboard about why the Beyoncé & Dixie Chicks performance was not on the site.
According to the rep, "CMA has not erased any mentions of Beyoncé’s performance on the CMA Awards. In advance of the broadcast, CMA removed a five-second promotional clip from ABC.com and CMA’s Facebook page. The promo was unapproved and CMA removed it prior to the broadcast. Beyoncé’s performance with Dixie Chicks was a highlight of the evening and we are continuing to share the amazing full-length performance clip via our official social channels."
CMA's rep released this statement only after fans took to Twitter and sounded off the alarms about the performance's absence on the website.
.@CountryMusic, why did you delete your tweets referring to @Beyonce's performance at the #CMAawards50?
— deray mckesson (@deray) November 3, 2016
CMA erased all evidence of Beyonce performing at the awards last after her appearance sparked racist backlash from some country fans. ???? pic.twitter.com/LOngo91jjL
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) November 3, 2016
Dixie Chicks chimed in on the situation as well promoting fans to speak out.
If we all turn this up really loud, together we can drown out the hate. https://t.co/PWJcDeNmuR
— Dixie Chicks (@dixiechicks) November 3, 2016
Dixie Chicks singer Natalie Maines tweeted late on Thursday night, "Hey everybody! The CMA's just called and asked us to co-host next year's show with Beyonce. Unfortunately I've got a thing that night so, no."
The performance, which aired Wednesday Nov. 2, can now be seen on CMA's website.
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