Country Music Association didn't accuse Jay-Z of unethical promotion, lying and bribery

A rumor that circulated online in May 2025 claimed the Country Music Association (CMA) accused rapper Jay-Z of unethical promotion, lying and bribery.

On May 5, the Reagan Was Right Facebook page posted a picture of an unidentified person speaking in front of a CMA logo, with a photo of Jay-Z superimposed on the image. The post, which received more than 8,600 reactions by the time of this writing, read:

The Country Music Association issued a statement accusing Jay-Z of unethical promotion, lying to the public, and bribing industry insiders for sway in awards voting. 'Jay-Z will no longer be welcome at any Association event, which includes the American Music Awards and the Country Music Awards.' Meanwhile, his wife's 'big tour' is a flop that can't sell out a show. Karma. It comes when you least expect it.

(Reagan Was Right/Facebook)

Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events, and shared the post with that belief. Multiple commenters suggested that awards Jay-Z's wife, the singer Beyoncé, received for her 2024 album "Cowboy Carter" were the result of bribery.

However, searches of Bing, DuckDuckGo and Google found no credible news media outlet reports about CMA accusing Jay-Z of wrongdoing and barring him from events. Rather, Reagan Was Right is one of several Facebook pages and websites in the America's Last Line of Defense network of satirical content.

The Reagan Was Right page featured a bio reading, "An authorized dumping ground for profitable right-wing propaganda and confirmation bias-based nonsense courtesy of America's Last Line of Defense. Nothing on this page is real." Other posts on the page displayed pictures with a watermark showing "S" for "satire."

Representatives for CMA and Jay-Z did not yet return requests asking if they wished to share statements.

The fictional story spread in the days prior to the 2025 Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards, scheduled to take place on May 8. Beyoncé was not a nominee for any awards in that ceremony. The CMA Awards, a different ceremony, is held annually in November. Beyoncé was not nominated for any CMA Awards in 2024, the year in which "Cowboy Carter" was eligible. In early 2025, "Cowboy Carter" won multiple Grammy Awards, including one for best country album. Neither the ACM nor the CMA is involved in the Grammy Awards, which a separate organization, the Recording Academy, runs.

Users also shared the rumor in the midst of Beyonce's ongoing "Cowboy Carter Tour."

In 2024, Snopes addressed a similar satirical claim also originating from America's Last Line of Defense, positing Jay-Z paid country radio stations $20 million to play songs from Beyonce's new album, "Cowboy Carter."

For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources calling their output humorous or satirical.