Garth Brooks has won the CMA Entertainer of the Year award seven times throughout his career, which is a record. On Wednesday, the country music star held a virtual press conference to reveal that he is removing his name from consideration for the coveted award.
Garth Brooks: "It's time for somebody else to hold that award"
"It's time for somebody else to hold that award," the 58-year-old singer announced. He also made the comment that his most recent win of that award just last year in 2019 was "not that fun, to tell you the truth." His victory was put under fire particularly by Carrie Underwood fans on social media who were sure the award would go to Carrie and in turn celebrate the accomplishments of women in country music. This was obviously not the case.
Garth Brooks has taken home CMA's highest honour in 1991, 1992, 1997, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Even the winner himself was shocked to hear his name announced last year. According to People, he said "I'm expecting to give a standing ovation to Carrie, I mean, this is her night ... And when they said my name, then I was like, I'm lost here because I don't know what to say."
CMA Makes Statement
After all the backlash he received, he quickly realized the only way forward was to remove his name from consideration for the award. However, according to the CMA Awards rules, they don't allow individuals to remove their names from the ballots. CMA released the following statement: "The long-standing CMA Awards rules do not allow individuals to remove themselves from the balloting process at any point."
Brooks' only option it seems is to simply ask the CMA members not to vote for him. "I'm very grateful for the time that I've got to go [win]," he shared, but now, "somebody else needs to hold that."
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