Garth Brooks said Wednesday he is removing himself from the Entertainer of the Year category at the CMA Awards.
“It’s time for somebody else to hold the award and know what entertainer of the year feels like,” the country star said during a Zoom press conference. Brooks has taken home the award a record seven times.
Brooks acknowledged the backlash after his most recent win and said one particular tweet stuck with him. “It said, ‘Why doesn’t he step down and have entertainer of the year be for the next generation.’ I 100 percent agreed. So with all the love in the world and all the gratefulness because the last thing I want to do is seem ungrateful to the CMAs and everyone who’s voted for us, we’re officially pulling ourselves out of entertainer of the year.”
Brooks’ announcement, though, comes after the first round of voting for this year’s CMAs has closed. The CMA said in a statement it will not remove a nominee. “The long-standing CMA Awards rules do not allow individuals to remove themselves from the balloting process at any point," it reads.
Country colleague Steve Wariner tweeted: “If you’ve ever seen @garthbrooks live, you know why he consistently wins entertainer of the year. There is no one as big as Garth, but more importantly there is no one as kind.”
Blake Shelton tweeted in agreement. "He is Garth Brooks. GARTH BROOKS!!! I don’t give a s**t what anyone says. ANYONE. Entertainer of the century."