Some folks really know how to make a mountain out of a rhinestone.
Lainey Wilson, who is our reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, lit up the stage during Snoop Dogg’s Christmas Day halftime show in Minneapolis. She was dressed in a bedazzled white jumpsuit and cowboy hat, and she rode in like a modern-day Mrs. Claus with Southern sass while belting out “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” in true honky-tonk holiday fashion. But instead of cheers, she found herself smack dab in the middle of a social media hissy fit because of Beyoncé’s fanbase, the Beyhive.
Netflix threw one heck of a party for its NFL Christmas Game Day broadcast. You had Snoop Dogg in a red fur-trimmed suit, opera royalty Andrea Bocelli and his son Matteo singing “White Christmas,” KPop stars from HUNTR/X dazzling with pop flair, and of course, Lainey bringing that down-home heat. It was eclectic and electric and a perfect mess of holiday magic. However, some people thought it looked a little too familiar.
The Beyhive came buzzing with accusations that Lainey Wilson “copied” Beyoncé’s 2024 Christmas halftime show look. They pointed to the white outfit. They pointed to the cowboy hat. They pointed to the sleigh-like entrance. One fan called it “Cowboy Copy Paste,” and another asked if the same car from Beyoncé’s show was reused. The comments kept rolling in with lines like “She stole Beyoncé’s look” and “This is literally the Beyoncé Bowl.”
Y’all, please.
First of all, if you think Lainey Wilson needs to borrow from anyone when it comes to putting on a show, then you have clearly never seen her ride into a honky-tonk and leave it smoldering. Country fashion is not new, and neither is winter white. If anything, Lainey’s look was just good old Southern holiday glam with a Western edge. Newsflash, cowboy hats and boots are her thing. She wears them to the grocery store, not just to make a statement.
Second, we should not forget who the actual country artist is in this situation. Beyoncé may be dabbling in country now that it is trendy, but wearing a hat and calling it country does not make you one of us. Lainey Wilson did not “copy” anything. She lives this life every day. If there is any overlap in stage design or styling, then maybe talk to the Netflix production crew instead of blaming the artist who actually represents the genre.
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We also cannot ignore the fact that Lainey lost to Beyoncé at the Grammys earlier this year. Beyoncé won Best Country Album, Best Country Duo or Group Performance, and Album of the Year. Did Lainey complain? No. She took it with grace, kept singing her songs, and stayed true to herself. That is what you call real class and real country.
“I never in a million years was thinking I am doing this just for the awards,” Lainey said after the Grammys. “I am doing this to play shows and put butts in seats and make people feel something.” Amen to that.
Lainey even got to meet Beyoncé at the show and spoke respectfully of her. No shade. But let us be honest. Lainey earned her place through grit and not by chasing headlines. She is not playing country for attention. She is filling boots and hearts across America every night.
So maybe instead of calling her a copycat for wearing white and bringing cowboy vibes on Christmas, folks should take a moment and ask if they even know what country music truly stands for.
Beyoncé may have brought the glitz. Lainey brought the roots. And country goes a whole lot deeper than a costume.
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