Whoopi Goldberg came to Beyoncé's defense after a Fox News pundit lambasted the global icon for securing the Best Country Album award at the 2025 Grammys on Sunday. Conservative author Raymond Arroyo made an appearance on Fox News' "The Ingraham Angle," hosted by Laura Ingraham, on Monday night, where he labeled Beyoncé's Grammy victories as a "ludicrous outcome." The singer of "Texas Hold 'Em" clinched the awards for Best Country Album and Album of the Year for "Cowboy Carter," in addition to Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "II Most Wanted," featuring Miley Cyrus.
"The country artists are far from pleased with this," Arroyo asserted. "Allow me to provide some context, Laura: Dolly Parton boasts 10 Grammys. Frank Sinatra had 11 Grammys. Beyoncé has amassed 35. How can that possibly reflect her talent? Seriously," he continued. Arroyo further remarked, "Essentially, Lady Gaga's cat sitter cast a vote for Best Reggae and Best Country Album, leading to this absurd result that bears no relation to the country audience or musicians."
On Tuesday morning, Goldberg seized the moment on "The View" to blast Arroyo for his critique, stating, "Sir, are you aware that one must be part of the music industry to vote for the Grammys? Hence, the cat sitter can't just cast a vote." The EGOT winner elaborated, "Are you aware that when the Grammys commenced in 1959, there were merely 28 categories, and now there are 94? The year Frank Sinatra garnered six nominations despite having two No. 1 albums, he only won one Grammy that night—not even for his singing, but for his album cover. Listen up, man. You can't pull that off. She deserved it."
Addressing Arroyo directly, Goldberg added, "You want to cling to country music as if white people didn't also purchase her country album. Come on, man! People voted for it. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. The same goes for the Oscars. Sit down! … Music doesn't have the issues you have. Music is about the people."
Released in March 2024, "Cowboy Carter" was not only a historic endeavor for Beyoncé but also shone a spotlight on other Black artists within the country music scene and sparked cultural conversations about Black artists reclaiming the genres they originated, including country music. The singer has also been open about not feeling "welcomed" in the country genre when she first attempted to venture into it years ago.
Last year, Beyoncé infamously received no recognition at the CMA Awards, despite "Cowboy Carter" being one of the top albums of the year and topping Billboard's Top Country Albums chart for four weeks. On Sunday, she made history as the first Black woman to win the Grammy for Best Country Album.
