The American Music Awards got an unexpected viral moment when chart-topper Shaboozey side-eyed country singer Megan Moroney.
The pair were on stage at the event, held in Las Vegas on Monday, to present Dan + Shay with the award for Favorite Country Duo or Group.
Shaboozey, best known for his No.1 hit “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”, read from the teleprompter first, remarking on the first American Music Awards held in 1974 . He said “Country music has been an important part of AMA history. The very first year of this show, the award for Favorite Male Country artist went to the great Charley Pride.”
Shaboozey side-eyed Megan Moroney during the #AMAs after she claimed The Carter Family “invented country music.” pic.twitter.com/oPjRAKWaQs
— Buzzing Pop (@BuzzingPop) May 27, 2025
Megan Moroney, who had hits with “Am I Okay?” and “Tennessee Orange”, continued to read from the script. “That same year, Favorite Female Artist went to Lynn Anderson,” she said, “and this award (Favorite Country Duo or Group) went to the Carter family, who basically invented country music.”
The Carter Family were an American folk group who began having hits in the 1920s and have been labelled the “first family of country music” by the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.
Moroney’s statement promoted Shaboozey to give her some serious side-eye, before laughing and presenting the nominees.
His reaction quickly went viral. Social media lit up with comments like “If you knew country music history, you’d know why he shot her that look.”
BYE SHABOOZEY SIDE-EYEING MEGAN MORONEY 😭😭 saying white people invented country music in front of a black country artist is sending me. megan girl nooooo #AMAs
— cass (eras nashville n2!) (@lovinglumax) May 27, 2025
It’s a member of a different Carter family—Beyoncé Knowles-Carter—who has been educating the world on the Black history of country music.
When she won her Album of the Year Grammy for Cowboy Carter this year, Beyoncé dedicated the award to trailblazing Black country artist Linda Martell.
Martell, now 83, became the first commercially successful Black female country artist and the first to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville.
Shaboozey also features on Cowboy Carter and performed with Beyoncé during her halftime show at the NFL game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans on Christmas Day last year.
The post Rapper’s Reaction to Country Star’s AMAs Comment Goes Viral appeared first on The Daily Beast.
