June Carter Cash's daughter Carlene rejects Beyoncé criticism: 'She's one of us'

2 April 2024, 12:49

Beyoncé's new country album has certainly broken barriers.

Breaking chart records and receiving universal critical acclaim, it's no doubt that Cowboy Carter has been a major hit.

Covering Dolly Parton's timeless heartbreaker 'Jolene', teaming up with outlaw legend Willie Nelson, and putting her own spin on the genre has seen her warmly embraced by the country music masses.

She decided to record the album after an experience where she "did not feel welcomed", but after the release of 'Texas Hold 'Em' that changed, with the song rocketing to the top of the US Hot Country Songs chart.

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Still, some sections of the country music community refused to accept Beyoncé, with some country music stations deciding that she wasn't country enough to get played on their stations.

The outrage from country music gatekeepers sparked a debate about who could be country and who couldn't be, especially when it concerns different races and backgrounds.

June Carter Cash's daughter Carlene has weighed in on the debate, however, claiming that Beyoncé is "one of us".

The Grammy-nominated country singer – who is part of the country music legends the Carter Family and whose stepdad was Johnny Cash – said that the R&B icon was "one of the Carter women" in a statement obtained by TODAY.com.

"I've caught wind of some negativity over the release of Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter, her new country album," she began.

"As a Carter Girl myself and coming from a long line of Carter Girls, I'm moved to ask why anyone would treat a Carter this way?"

She goes on to call Beyoncé "an incredibly talented and creative woman" who "obviously wanted to do this because she likes country music", and whose surname Carter comes from her marriage to Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z.

"In my book, she's one of us Carter women and we have always pushed the boundaries by trying whatever music we felt in our hearts and taking spirit-driven risks," she wrote. 

"Sometimes the country music 'establishment' hasn’t been all that welcoming and sometimes this was accepted with open arms," she continued. "Like Chuck Berry said, 'it goes to show you never can tell'."

Beyoncé - JOLENE (Official Lyric Video)

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Carlene went on to praise Beyoncé and her "spunk" for releasing a genre-defying album, in true outlaw spirit.

"I am here to let Beyoncé and to all those nay sayers know that I admire and love her and all she does."

"I am delighted to know that Carter spunk is in her just like it's been through nearly 100 years of us Carters choosing to follow ours (sic) hearts, hearts that are filled with love not just for country music but for all kinds of music," she wrote.

Carter - whose family is widely referred to as the 'first family of country music' added she extended a "warm welcome" to the singer as a new member of the "Carter Girl Club".

"It's only a matter of time before those nay sayers become Bey sayers," she quipped before signing off the statement with "much love and support."