A viral TikTok video in which an Indiana State University (ISU) student made racially-charged comments seemingly in response to Beyoncé’s new country music-inspired album has been condemned by the college’s president.
Beyoncé released Cowboy Carter on March 29 as Act II of a three-part project, the first of which was her tribute Black LGBTQ+ ballroom culture with the 2022 album Renaissance. She has yet to reveal the theme behind Act III.
Some big names appear on Cowboy Carter, including Dolly Parton, Miley Cyrus, Post Malone and Willie Nelson. Beyoncé covered The Beatles’ classic track “Blackbird” and Parton’s enduring hit “Jolene” on the album.
And while Beyoncé enjoys chart-topping sales with the album, an ISU student appeared to take issue with the Texas native’s turn at country music, using race and slavery to question her eligibility.
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“I’m sorry, if you’re Black, you’re not country,” the woman said in the clip.
“I know you were raised in the country, or your grandparents were, but they was picking,” the woman continued. “They wasn’t planting. Keep that in mind. They wasn’t making money. They was getting sold for money.”
As the video went viral, ISU President Deborah J. Curtis issued a statement to Facebook on April 10, condemning the comments made by the student.
“Upon learning that a racist video from an Indiana State University student was posted online, we immediately worked with the vice president for Student Affairs to identify the student, communicate directly with student leaders, and strategize how to prioritize student well-being and safety,” the statement read.
“Racism, hate speech, and discrimination of any kind is deplorable and in direct contradiction of Indiana State’s mission, vision, and values. The student’s comments in the video in no way represent the ideals and goals of Indiana State University. We are appalled by the sentiments expressed in the video and condemn those comments in the strongest terms.”
While the student in question was not named in the statement, Curtis said there had been “rampant information spreading online,” adding that “the privacy of students, due process, and actions taken by the university and its employees cannot be shared,” due to “guidelines established by state and federal law.”
On April 9, ISU had issued a separate statement on the matter, saying that it was taking that incident “seriously” and was “committed to ensuring a welcoming environment for everyone.”
Among those to also have issued statements condemning the comments are the Indiana State University NAACP Executive Committee and the African Student Union, which called for disciplinary action against the student featured in the video.
The student’s current status with ISU has not been publicly revealed. Newsweek has contacted representatives of Beyoncé and ISU via email for comment.
It was recently revealed that Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter achieved the biggest opening week of 2024 so far in the U.S., after debuting with 407,000 equivalent album units, according to data analysis company Luminate.
That number was a combined total of 232,000 units from streaming, 168,000 traditional album sales, and 7,000 track equivalent albums (10 downloads from the same album is equivalent to one album unit sale). It makes the album the best sales week for a country album since Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) moved 716,000 copies in July 2023. It was also Beyoncé’s biggest streaming week ever, according to Billboard.
Since its release, Cowboy Carter has broken records in many places, including in its first few hours on the market. Audio platform Spotify revealed that the album was streamed 76.5 million times on its first day of release, making it the most listened-to new album this year and most-streamed album in a single day in 2024 so far.
It also achieved this feat on Amazon Music. It went on to net more than 213 million streams in about five days on Spotify.
Beyoncé revealed she decided to make an album inspired by country music after not feeling welcomed in the community.
“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote on Instagram when announcing the album.
The star appeared to be referring to her performance with The Chicks at the Country Music Association Awards in 2016 and her song, “Daddy Lessons,” from the album Lemonade. Beyoncé and The Chicks performed that song at the CMAs but her move into country music and invitation to sing at the event were widely criticized.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.