UPDATE 11/03 8:29 PM:
The Country Music Association has issued a statement claiming that they never removed mentions of Beyoncé and The Dixie Chicks' performance from their website and social media accounts.
"CMA has not erased any mentions of Beyoncé's performance on the CMA Awards," representatives said. "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."
Read the original post below.
According to TMZ, The Country Music Awards have removed all references to last night's performance of "Daddy Lessons" by Beyoncé and The Dixie Chicks from their website and social media accounts. Sources directly affiliated with the CMAs reported to TMZ that CMA executives decided to the pull the content due to racist and hateful comments posted by fans. They were particularly concerned about their fans' response to Beyoncé and The Dixie Chicks' support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and "just want this to go away."
Some of the unbelievably racist comments include "That's right folks. Beyonce performed at the CMAs last night & is on a mission to take country music away from us, hardworking white people!" and "What place does @Beyonce who vilifies police officers who keep us safe have to do with #CMAawards50?"
After learning that TMZ was developing a story about the removal of the performance, the CMAs began posting photos of Beyoncé and The Dixie Chicks on their social media pages again, which were swiftly met with an impassioned response from the Beyhive.
The Dixie Chicks, who are typically quiet on social media, took to Twitter to address the removal and share the collaboration via SoundCloud. Read The Dixie Chicks' statement below, and check out the original performance above.
