Shaboozey wasn't "tipsy" but, rather, appeared to have reached some kind of tipping point in reaction to the patter that he and fellow country star Megan Moroney were reading as presenters at the American Music Awards Monday night. Viewers couldn't help noticing the singer's suddenly puzzled facial expression, followed by an abrupt chuckle, in response to his co-presenter reading a line off the prompter stating that the Carter Family "basically invented country music." On Monday, he spoke up to address what those non-verbal reactions were about. More from Variety American Music Awards Winners 2025: Billie Eilish Sweeps in All Seven Nominated Categories, Beyoncé and Eminem Take Home Two Apiece How to Watch the 2025 American Music Awards Online American Music Awards Partner With Easy Day Foundation to Honor U.S. Troops And Veterans During Show "Google: Lesley Riddle, Steve Tarter, Harry Gay, DeFord Bailey, and The Carter Family," Shaboozey tweeted in the morning, naming some of the pioneering Black figures in country music alongside the Carters. Riddle is a blues musician oft cited by historians for closely collaborating with A.P. and Maybelle Carter in the late 1920s and helping them develop the sound of what first become knowh as "hillbilly" music, before it was country. He deleted that tweet, reportedly with the intent of issuing a more elaborate statement later. But he did post two subsequent tweets, still up, that further spoke to his thinking: "When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased," he wrote on X. And, on a note of togetherness: "The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike." Even before he tweeted, observers of the telecast didn't have a hard time guessing what might have rubbed Shaboozey the wrong way. Beyond the difficult-to-defend idea that any single artist could invent an artform, there has been a very public discussion in the past couple of years about the Black roots of country, led by Rhiannon Giddens creating awareness of the banjo as an instrument that was introduced to America by slaves, and greatly amplified by Beyoncé further bringing up the issue of the genre's origins with her "Cowboy Carter" album, which featured Shaboozey on two tracks. The dialogue was undoubtedly meant as light-hearted hyperbole, but given how much the racial roots of country have been part of that national discourse recently, it was understandably seen by many viewers as a failure to read the larger room. When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased… — Shaboozey (@ShaboozeysJeans)May 27, 2025 The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike. — Shaboozey (@ShaboozeysJeans)May 27, 2025 Shaboozey and Moroney were on hand at the AMAs to present the award for favorite country duo or group, which, apart from those few curious seconds, went smoothly. The remark about the Carter Family "basically inventing" country music — which resulted in that "Huh?" expression from Shaboozey — shortly followed one that paid homage to Charley Pride, one of the few Black superstars in country music history prior to Shaboozey. Pride and the Carter Family were being memorialized as the winners of the country categories at the very first AMAs in 1974. It was not just Shaboozey who had a quizzical response. Wrote Rissi Palmer, one of the foremost Black women in country, on her Instagram account, as she posted a video clip of the presentation: "Tell me you know nothing about the actual roots of Country music without telling me you don't know the roots… like, who wrote this script? What in the Project 2025 hell is this? I see I'm going to have to do another video about Lesley 'Esley' Riddle, the Black preacher who acted as a song scout for the Carter Family and more than inspired and created what we know as 'The Carter Scratch' guitar playing style. Behind every founding father and mother of Country music stands a Black musician playing Black roots music, strategically hidden in the mix…" Continued Palmer, "Make no mistake, the Carter family is foundational to Country music as the first commercially successful artists under the newly formed genre 'Hillbilly Music.' But they did not invent Country music. European immigrants, enslaved Africans, indigenous, Polynesian and Mexican people brought their folk music to this country, mixed them together, and created the artform that we all now know as Country music." Wrote another Nashville-based Black singer, Roberta Lea, beneath Palmer's post: "This is why having Black people around is hard for them. Even without speaking, our faces will call out some bullsh*t." Shaboozey has been a powerful emblem of continued Black presence in country, with a massive 2024 song, "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," that topped the country airplay charts as well as the Billboard Hot 100 for weeks. His star has not faded — he is currently on the cover of People magazine, fronting its "Hot Guy Summer" issue — making his response more potent than some of the academics and roots musicians who typically bring these issues to the fore. Representatives for Shaboozey did not have any immediate further comment from the star. Reps for the AMAs did not respond to a request for comment. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rissi Palmer (@rissipalmermusic) Dom Flemons, a prominent musician who co-founded the influential Black roots group the group Carolina Chocolate Drops with Giddens, posted a link to a video he previously created about the Carters/Riddle connection. He also made it clear that no one looking to elevate the Black presence in country history should disrespect the Carter Family. "This videoI did with Black In Appalachian explores the entire history of Lesley Riddle and his connection to the Carter Family as well blues singer Brownie McGhee," Flemons wrote on Instagram. "The Carters and Ralph Peer deserve the credit for their work to establish country music as a genre. Lesley Riddle was never an established artist, which is why he fell to the wayside in the early years. Thankfully Mike Seeger worked with Maybelle Carter in the 1960s and he learned about Lesley Riddle from her. It took many years for his story to come out into the public. Watch the video and learn the whole story. This is not a standard misappropriation and should not be described that way." Best of Variety 'Harry Potter' TV Show Cast Guide: Who's Who in Hogwarts? New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Talk/Scripted Variety Series - The Variety Categories Are Still a Mess; Netflix, Dropout, and 'Hot Ones' Stir Up Buzz Sign up forVariety's Newsletter. 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