Tina Knowles wants you to know this isn’t her daughter Beyoncé’s first rodeo.
Beyoncé once again stopped the world when she revealed that her new album, currently known as Act II, is taking a country music turn with her new singles “Texas Hold’em” and “16 Carriages.”
Despite her documented history with country music and cowboy aesthetics, not everyone seems to be a fan of the Houston native returning to her roots.
John Schneider, of Dukes of Hazzard fame, seemingly blasted Beyoncé during an interview with right-wing network OANN, likening her to a urinating dog marking a territory, per TMZ.
“They’ve got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park, you know?” said Schneider. “Every dog has to mark every tree, right? So that’s what’s going on here.”
Although she didn’t offer a direct response to Schneider’s comments, Bey’s mother spoke her piece on Instagram to shed more light on her family’s relationship with “cowboy culture," and posted a video from TIME which proclaims that Beyoncé "has always been country."
“I just came across this video on my IG feed! We have always celebrated Cowboy Culture growing up in Texas," she wrote. "We also always understood that it was not just about it belonging to White culture only."
“In Texas there is a huge black cowboy culture," Knowles continued. "Why do you think that my kids have integrated it into their fashion and art since the beginning. When people ask why is Beyonce wearing cowboy hats? It's really funny, I actually laugh because it's been there since she was a kid ,we went to rodeos every year and my whole family dressed in western fashion . Solange did a whole brilliant Album and Project based on Black Cowboy Culture. @. It definitely was a part of our culture growing up.”
LaTavia Roberson, Beyoncé’s former Destiny’s Child bandmate, reportedly caught wind of Schneider’s comment and issued her own response on Instagram, writing, “Disgusting and disrespectful being from Texas we was raised on country music as part of our education program. We have The Texas Livestock Show & Rodeo. Our families participate every year & it's mostly African Americans that you see in those activities so plz have several seats.”
Beyoncé’s Act II album, the follow up to 2022’s Renaissance, will be released on March 29.
