First Sammy Kershaw, Now Rodney Atkins: Two Country Legends Say the CMAs Banned Them From the Red Carpet
The Sammy Kershaw CMA red carpet snub has turned into one of the biggest country music stories of the year — and now a second legend says it happened to him, too.
What started as one veteran star’s heartbreaking post about being shut out of country music’s biggest night has snowballed into a full-blown Nashville reckoning, with fellow artists rallying behind Kershaw, one star offering up his own red-carpet spot, and another threatening to boycott the show altogether.
And through it all, the CMA has said nothing.
Sammy Kershaw: “Extremely Hurtful, Embarrassing and Very Disappointing”
On November 5, ’90s country star Sammy Kershaw revealed that the CMA had denied his request to walk the red carpet “for a few minutes” at the November 18 CMA Awards with his wife, Mendy.
Kershaw said he had already rearranged his schedule and booked travel to attend the ceremony in Nashville. Instead, he was told no.
He called the decision “extremely hurtful, embarrassing and very disappointing” — and then delivered the line that stopped Nashville cold: the next time he attends the CMA Awards may be “in tribute after I’m gone.”
It is a stunning snub for an artist with Kershaw’s resume. He has been a lifetime CMA member since 1992, won the 1993 CMA Horizon Award, and scored more than 25 Billboard Top 40 country hits, including “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” and “Third Rate Romance.”
The timing makes it even harder to understand. This year’s 60th CMA Awards are celebrating 1990s country — the very decade Kershaw helped define.
Rodney Atkins: “Just Like Sammy Kershaw”
Then, on November 7, Rodney Atkins revealed that he and his wife, Rose Falcon, had been denied red-carpet clearance, too.
“After more than 20 years as a CMA member and countless CMA Fests I’ve played for free, Rose and I were denied red-carpet clearance, just like Sammy Kershaw,” Atkins said. “So we’ve decided not to attend this year’s CMA Awards.”
Two legends. Two denials. One pattern — and Nashville noticed.
Nashville Rallies Behind Kershaw
The response from fellow artists was swift, loud, and furious.
Riley Green summed up the mood in a comment that has been shared thousands of times: “If you haven’t earned the right to be there then nobody has.”
Carly Pearce added, “many of us wouldn’t be here without artists like you.”
Drew Baldridge went further, offering to give up his own red-carpet spot for Kershaw. Mark Chesnutt, Jake Owen, Meghan Patrick, and Ty Herndon also spoke out in support, while Bobby Bones raised the stakes by threatening a CMA boycott.
The message from Nashville’s stars is unmistakable: the artists who built country music in the ’90s deserve more than a closed door at the show celebrating them.
The CMA, meanwhile, has issued no public response.
What Happens Next
The 60th CMA Awards air Wednesday, November 18, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, hosted by Lainey Wilson.
The show is set to celebrate the decade that made Kershaw and Atkins stars — and you can catch up on the lineup in our earlier report, CMA Awards Just Dropped Its First Performers.
Whether either man will be in the room remains to be seen. Atkins has already said he will not attend. Kershaw has not said whether he will still go — only that being turned away hurt.
One thing is certain: this year’s red carpet will be watched more closely than ever. And the question hanging over Nashville is a simple one — if Sammy Kershaw and Rodney Atkins can’t walk it, who can?
Photo credit: Sammy Kershaw performing in 2018 — Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0).
