Billy Ray Cyrus was shocked that Beyoncé was snubbed at this year’s CMA Awards despite her debut country album, “Cowboy Carter,” being a hit.

After the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer congratulated this year’s nominees, he went on to react to the pop star’s snub.

“I was surprised to see @beyonce wasn’t nominated??? Her album was brilliant… her single ruled. But she knows that,” Cyrus captioned an Instagram post Wednesday.

9
Billy Ray Cyrus took to Instagram on Wednesday to react to Beyoncé being snubbed by the Country Music Association Awards. Getty Images

9
After he congratulated this year’s nominees ahead of Wednesday’s ceremony, he went on to reveal that he was “surprised” that Beyoncé didn’t receive a nomination. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

9
The pop sensation dove into the country music genre with her “Cowboy Carter” album released in March. Blair Caldwell/Parkwood Entertainment LLC
Despite his astonishment, he went on to explain that he doesn’t think Beyoncé needs the nomination.

“She doesn’t need a trophy from the CMA… or permission …. or approval from any of their judges,” the 63-year-old wrote.

Cyrus concluded the post by quoting the late boxer Muhammad Ali.

“When ya knock em out…. Ya don’t need no judge,” he wrote.

9
“I was surprised to see @beyonce wasn’t nominated??? Her album was brilliant… her single ruled. But she knows that,” Cyrus wrote in the post about the singer, pictured above in an ad for Levis. levis/Instagram

9
“She doesn’t need a trophy from the CMA… or permission …. or approval from any of their judges,” the 63-year-old went on to write. Netflix
Earlier in the post, Cyrus said he was “proud to see country music opening their doors and format to be inclusive to all people, all styles.”

Beyoncé, 43, released her country record “Cowboy Carter” in March, which was the first album she released outside of her typical pop genre.

Many celebrities reacted to the Country Music Association’s snub of the “Break My Soul” singer when they announced the nominees on Sept. 9.

Country singer Luke Bryan addressed the snub during an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Andy Cohen Live” on Oct. 1.

9
He then concluded the post by sharing a quote was words of encouragement for Beyoncé. Netflix

9
“‘When ya knock em out…. Ya don’t need no judge’. – Muhammad Ali,” he wrote about the Grammy winner, pictured here performing at the 50th CMA Awards. Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
“Everybody loved that Beyoncé made a country album. Nobody’s mad about it. But where things get a little tricky … if you’re gonna make country albums, come into our world and be country with us a little bit,” he said.

“Beyoncé can do exactly what she wants to. She’s probably the biggest star in music.”

Many of Beyoncé’s fans also took to social media at the time calling the snub “racist.”

9
When the nominations were announced in September, many of the 43-year-old’s fans called the CMAs “racist” for the snub. CBS via Getty Images

9
Country singer Luke Bryan also reacted to the snub and encouraged Beyoncé to “come into our world,” regarding the country genre. Robert Hanashiro / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
“there’s just no f–king way that bey and cowboy carter got completely ignored at the cmas but f–kass post malone got 4 nominations… this is just racism and there’s no other word for it bc cowboy carter is one of the biggest albums of the year and it literally put country on the spotlight again this year,” one upset fan wrote.

“Anyone with common sense knew the CMAs were gonna pay Bey dust. They do not like her. They are NOT going to honor an album that was sparked from their racist treatment towards her,” another wrote.

Despite the outrage, not everyone believed it was a snub with “The View” co-host Whoopi Goldberg defending the CMAs in September.

“I don’t think she was snubbed, I think they just didn’t… it wasn’t for them,” she said.