Loretta Lynn is among the artists who believe Garth Brooks should not take himself out of the running for CMA Entertainer of the Year.

In a July 2020 press conference, Brooks announced that he is making himself ineligible for the CMA Awards' top prize, Entertainer of the Year, following the backlash he received after winning the crown for the seventh time in 2019. Many country music fans shared their frustrations on social media that it should have gone to top contenders Carrie Underwood or Eric Church.

“You pretty much saw what happened after the CMAs, all the way through the new year. It got a little — it wasn’t fun, let’s put it that way," Brooks remarked during the press conference. "But there was one tweet that really stuck in my head. It said, ‘Why doesn’t he step down and have the entertainer for the next generation?’”

Brooks has decided to withdraw from consideration for CMA Entertainer of the Year, but he will still be considered in all other categories, he states.

In an Instagram post on Wednesday (Aug. 12), Lynn said that Brooks shouldn't bow out of EOTY consideration if he is deserving of the title.

"I think he’s wrong on this one! He’s won it 7 times because he earned it! In my book, he’s earned it 20 times over and deserves to win it anytime they count the votes up and he’s on top," Lynn writes in an impassioned post alongside a photo of herself and Brooks on stage at the 2010 Grammy Salute to Country Music event.

"He’s worked his heart out and you can mark it down that I’m his biggest fan. I hope CMA ignores his request! Love you, honey," she concludes.

Lynn is not the only country star to speak out about Brooks' decision. Brooks' longtime friend and "Longneck Bottle" duet partner Steve Wariner vouched for Brooks' star power onstage and kindness behind the scenes.

"Garth, you are not just entertainer of the year, you are a legend forever and you earned it," he said in a tweet, with Blake Shelton echoing the statement. "I don’t give a s--t what anyone says. ANYONE. Entertainer of the century," he added in his own tweet.

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