Sammy Kershaw, the ’90s country hitmaker behind “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful,” says the Country Music Association denied his request to walk the red carpet at this year’s CMA Awards — and the snub has struck a nerve across Nashville.
Kershaw, 68, shared his disappointment in a post on Facebook on Thursday, Nov. 5, saying the organization had turned down his request to walk the carpet with his wife, Mendy, at the 60th annual CMA Awards on Nov. 18 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.
“Well, I just found out some disappointing news and it really hurts me,” Kershaw wrote. “I have to share my disappointment with the CMA as they have denied my request to walk the red carpet for a few minutes at this year’s CMA Awards, and I have to say I’m pretty sad about it.”
Kershaw said he and his wife had already rearranged his touring schedule and booked flights and hotels for the event before learning they would not be permitted on the carpet. He pointed to more than 50 years in the business, millions of records sold, more than two dozen Billboard-charted hits, a CMA Horizon Award nomination, the lifetime membership the CMA presented to him in 1992, and a CMA Fest show he had been asked to play without pay.
“It’s extremely hurtful, embarrassing and very disappointing,” he wrote. “I guess the next time I attend the CMA’s, it will be in tribute after I’m gone, if I’m lucky.”
The Country Music Association has not publicly responded to Kershaw’s post or explained the decision. Fellow ’90s country star Mark Chesnutt spoke out in support of Kershaw, and Riley Green was among the artists who criticized the organization for excluding a longtime figure in country music.
The 60th annual CMA Awards will be held Nov. 18 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, airing live from 7 to 10 p.m. CT on ABC and Disney+. The show is built around a salute to ’90s country — the decade Kershaw spent on the radio with hits including “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful,” “Queen of My Double-Wide Trailer,” “Cadillac Style” and “Third Rate Romance.”
