Last night (Feb. 5), the 2023 Grammys broadcasted live from the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. During the annual ceremony, Beyoncé made history after earning four trophies, making her the most decorated recipient of all time with a total of 32 wins.
However, even though the “Greatest of All Time,” as show host Trevor Noah referred to her as, shattered the record, her fans still believe she was snubbed. Beyoncé’s 2022 album Renaissance fell to Harry Styles’ Harry’s House for Album of the Year. The Houston native has been nominated in the category several times but has never won. Fans had strong opinions regarding the loss: “There is something infuriatingly racist about the vast majority of Beyoncé’s #Grammys being in R&B categories while having [four] nominations for AOTY and winning [zero] times. ZERO. Meanwhile, artists like Taylor Swift [have] THREE under her belt. Good night.”
Others felt the snub was completely intentional after reading an article containing confessions of Grammy board voting members. On Feb. 2, days ahead of the big show, Variety published a piece where Grammy voters anonymously revealed who they cast their ballots for and why. “With Beyoncé, the fact that every time she does something new, it’s a big event and everyone’s supposed to quake in their shoes — it’s a little too portentous,” one nameless source boldly told the outlet. “I saw two Grammy voters quoted in that Variety article who said they didn’t vote for Beyoncé because she always wins and every time she does something new, ‘It’s a big event,’ and it really pisses me off. People just don’t like seeing Black women win ‘too much.’ It’s nasty,” one user tweeted. Another followed up with, “Voters were really on that article saying they didn’t vote for Beyoncé for AOTY because she’s TOO loved. Do you know how crazy that is?”
One person felt Renaissance should have taken the trophy because the album didn’t rely on a single gimmick: “I now believe Beyoncé didn’t release visuals in order to show that her music speaks volumes ALONE. No smoke [and] mirrors — no performances, no videos, no appearances — just pure MUSIC, and can still stand against everyone else in the game. Pass her that AOTY Grammy.” Although the BeyHive was ready to go to war for their queen bee, many didn’t agree with people bashing Styles for his win. When the “As It Was” singer went on stage to accept his award, hecklers in the audience shouted for him to “get off the stage.” At a press conference immediately following the ceremony, he was also asked by a journalist if he expected to win over Beyoncé, to which he replied, “You never know with this stuff. I don’t think you can look at any of the nominees and not feel like they’re deserving. When I look at this category, it’s all people who have inspired me.”
See what others are saying below.