Last week, the 63-year-old actor got fired up over Beyoncé’s fans’ desire to have one of her new songs, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” played on a country music radio station in Oklahoma.
As Schneider sat down to talk with OANN host Alison Steinberg, the duo discussed the country genre and how it has been changing throughout the years.
”The lefties in the entertainment industry just won’t leave any area alone, right? They just have to seize control over every aspect, don’t they?” Steinberg said while talking to Schneider.
Beyoncé dipping her toes into country music is like “a dog peeing on a tree” to mark her territory, according to Schneider.
The actor replied, ”They’ve got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park. You know, every dog has to mark every tree, right? So that’s what’s going on here.”
According to him, artists like the 32-time Grammy winner should stick to their usual genres and avoid venturing into country music. However, the question remains whether Schneider has heard everything yet – Beyoncé is set to release a new album on March 29, 2024, titled Renaissance: Act II.
Fans speculate that it could be a complete country album.
While Schneider didn’t like what he had heard from Beyoncé, he spoke more broadly about the influx of pop stars venturing into country music.
For instance, artists like Post Malone and Lana Del Rey are also rumored to be interested in exploring the popular genre. With approximately 76 million Americans enjoying country music weekly, it’s no surprise that big-name artists might want to tap into this vast fan base and broaden their appeal. So, Schneider’s stance reflects a broader concern within the country music community about the influence of pop on the genre.
Some may find it strange that Schneider is speaking out on this issue, but the fact is, he has considerable experience in the world of country music. Back in the ’80s, he made his mark in the industry with nine studio albums, a greatest hits package, and eighteen singles.
Among these releases were hits like “I’ve Been Around Enough to Know,” “Country Girls,” “What’s a Memory Like You,” and “You’re the Last Thing I Needed Tonight,” all of which reached the top of the Billboard country singles charts. He still performs, and in 2023, Schneider participated in season ten of The Masked Singer as “Donut”.
What are Beyonce’s fans saying?
The harsh words about Beyoncé have not gone unnoticed, unsurprisingly. Fans of the pop star were not entirely pleased with Schneider’s remarks. Many of them labeled him ‘racist and hateful’ for comparing Beyoncé to a urinating dog.
Some of them took to X, formerly Twitter, to express their opinion.
”Country music was created by black folks,” one fan pointed out.
“Cross overs are not new. Paul McCartney released a country song 50 years ago (Country Dreamer and Sally G)…even the Stones had a huge country influence (Dead Flowers Far Away Eyes) so don’t understand this is about Beyonce unless it’s because she’s….,” another person wrote.
”Imagine gatekeeping a genre of music that black people created, imagine getting mad that a southern artist from Texas decided to go back to her roots. BTW This is not her first country song!!,” one fan added.
