CMA Faces Backlash Over Beyonce-Dixie Chicks Duet

The surprise collaboration of Beyonce and the Dixie Chicks at the Country Music Association Awards was still rocking the music world on Thursday, but not all were impressed by the electric performance—and some country fans unleashed their anger on social media. The Beyonce-Dixie Chicks performance, which can be seen here, received plenty of attention and rave reviews and had many gushing. Reese Witherspoon tweeted, "Loving this!" during the performance. But some were outraged that Beyonce and the Dixie Chicks, who have been estranged from the country music world since their insult of then-President George Bush in 2003, even were allowed to perform, the AP reports.

Some questioned the Dixie Chicks patriotism, while others claimed that Beyonce is anti-police because she has addressed police brutality in her music videos. Still others complained that Beyonce was not a country artist, although the CMAs routinely feature non-country artists in collaborations, including the highly praised performance at last year's show between Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton. But overall, the country artists who performed and were honored on the show Wednesday were overwhelmingly supportive of the performance. "Queen Bey and the Dixie Chicks, I thought that was just power, just raw power," said entertainer of the year Garth Brooks. (Check out some candid moments from the awards.)