Shaboozey is clarifying his viral reaction at the 2025 American Music Awards and noting it had nothing to do with his co-presenter Megan Moroney.
The country star presented the Favorite Country Duo or Group category at the AMAs in Las Vegas on Monday night alongside Moroney.
Reading off the teleprompter, Moroney said the award they were going to present had been awarded to The Carter Family, “who basically invented country music.” This remark prompted a side-eye from Shaboozey, which turned him into an instant meme.
Following the viral AMAs moment, Shaboozey took to Moroney’s latest Instagram post to clear up that the shade was not to her, as she didn’t write the script she read at the award show.
“Just want to clear something up: my reaction at the AMAs had nothing to do with Megan Moroney!” Shaboozey wrote. “She’s an incredibly talented, hard-working artist who’s doing amazing things for country music, and I’ve got nothing but respect for her.”
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He continued, “I’ve seen some hateful comments directed at her today, and that’s not what this moment was about. Let’s not twist the message — she is amazing and someone who represented the country community in the highest light.”
Shaboozey responds to Megan Moroney on Instagram
Shaboozey commented on social media earlier in the day following his viral reaction.
“When you uncover the true history of country music, you find a story so powerful that it cannot be erased…,” Shaboozey posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
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In a second post on Elon Musk’s digital platform, Shaboozey wrote, “The real history of country music is about people coming together despite their differences, and embracing and celebrating the things that make us alike.”
The Carter Family, who won at the first AMAs, was an American folk music group known for songs like “Wabash Cannonball,” “Can the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Wildwood Flower,” “Keep on the Sunny Side,” and “I’m Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes.” June Carter — known as June Carter Cash after she married Johnny Cash — was portrayed by Reese Witherspoon in 2005’s Walk the Line.
The Carter Family was not a reference to Beyoncé, who won two AMAs for her country album Cowboy Carter.
