Two weeks before the 60th annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena on November 18, 2026, Sammy Kershaw posted a lengthy message on Instagram saying the Country Music Association denied his request to walk the red carpet with his wife, Mendy.

According to Country Chord, Kershaw wrote that the couple had already booked flights and hotels for a night out "celebrating country music" before learning he could not attend.

He pointed to a 50-year career, more than two dozen Billboard hits, lifetime CMA membership and multiple CMA Fest appearances, saying he hoped he had "earned the opportunity" to walk the carpet as the couple had done before.

He called the decision "extremely hurtful" and "embarrassing," and closed with a stinging line: "I guess the next time I attend the CMAs it will be in tribute after I'm gone, if I'm lucky."

The snub quickly drew an equally blunt response from fellow '90s staple Mark Chesnutt, who posted on Facebook, "So Sammy Kershaw won't be allowed to walk the red carpet at the big CMA Awards. Well that's about right."

Chesnutt, the "Bubba Shot the Jukebox" singer, wrote that "the CMA doesn't care about us old 90s guys any more," accusing the association of rolling "out the welcome mat for pop stars and Hollywood movie stars and even hip hop artists."

He added that "anything but country music gets the performance spots on the show," and contrasted the treatment with rock, which he said "honors its history and respects its legends."

American Songwriter notes the irony: Chesnutt won two CMA Awards himself in 1993, for the Horizon Award and Vocal Event of the Year.

The posts turned into what Country Chord describes as a full-blown internet riot within hours. Riley Green weighed in under Kershaw's original post, writing, "If you haven't earned the right to be there then nobody has… disappointing to say the least."

According to Country Chord, Carly Pearce, Jake Owen, Kylie Morgan, Meghan Patrick, Trey Lewis and Greylan James were among the artists also rallying to his defense.

American Songwriter reports that within less than an hour of Chesnutt's post, thousands of fans flooded the comment section, with one calling the CMA "a joke now" and another saying they would choose Kershaw's shows over newer "country" musicians any day.

The backlash lands at an awkward moment, since the association had said it planned to celebrate '90s legends for its 60th anniversary.

As of publication, American Songwriter reports the CMA had not responded to Chesnutt's post or explained why Kershaw was not permitted to walk the red carpet.

Kershaw — whose Top 40 hits include "She Don't Know She's Beautiful," "Cadillac Style" and "Anywhere But Here," per American Songwriter — has one Horizon Award nomination to his name, while Chesnutt says he and his peers will "keep working" for the fans of traditional country rather than the industry.