‘Dukes of Hazzard’ Star John Schneider Slams Beyonce’s New Country Song [Watch]
Beyonce is creating a huge buzz with the news that she is releasing a full country album in March, but not everyone is a fan of that idea.
In a new interview, Dukes of Hazzard star and country singer John Schneider compares the idea to a dog trying to mark new territory.
Speaking to One America News Network, the actor and singer — who has become an outspoken conservative media presence in more recent years — agrees with the host of the segment, which focuses on the controversy that erupted online when a Beyonce fan claimed an Oklahoma radio station had refused to play Beyonce's new country song, "Texas Hold 'Em," after he specifically requested it.
The station later clarified that the record company had not yet formally serviced the song to country radio. According to Schneider's segment on OAN, Beyonce releasing a country song is tantamount to liberals forcing their way into country music.
"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?" the host of the segment asks in the video below.
"They've got to make their mark, just like a dog in a dog walk park," Schneider replies, wryly grinning at his own analogy. "You know, every dog has to mark every tree, right? So that's what's going on here."
In an excerpt posted to Twitter, Schneider opines that outsiders coming into the country genre is different from artists like Shania Twain transitioning from country music into pop and other styles.
"I know a little something about country music," the actor asserts.
Beyonce announced her upcoming country album, Act II, in a Verizon commercial during Super Bowl 58 on Sunday (Feb. 11), accompanied by the release of two new songs: "Texas Hold 'Em" and "16 Carriages."
Act II is set for release on March 29.
The pop megastar previously released a country song titled "Daddy Lessons" as part of her Lemonade album in 2016. She took the stage alongside the Chicks to perform the song at the CMA Awards that same year.
The notion that country music is a conservative genre with liberals now encroaching upon it is not historically correct. Some of the most beloved and influential country artists of all time have been liberal leaning, including Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, the Chicks and more, while the younger generation of country singers is a more even mix of conservative and liberal points of view.
Schneider stared as Bo Duke on The Dukes of Hazzard, which ran from 1979 through 1985 on CBS. He launched a career in country music beginning in 1981, when he released a cover of the classic Elvis Presley hit "It's Now or Never" as his debut single, reaching No. 4.
The actor and singer went on to a run of No. 1 country hits that included "I've Been Around Enough to Know," "Country Girls," "What's a Memory Like You (Doing in a Love Like This)" and "You're the Last Thing I Needed Tonight."
Schneider's most recent release is a patriotic song titled "She's Worth It," which he calls "my Valentine's Day card to the greatest country in the history of the world."
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Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes