Is a viral article claiming country singer Chris Stapleton filed an official objection to Beyoncé winning a Grammy based on actual news events? No, that's not true: There is no record of Stapleton saying "Eveп she admits this is пot a coυпtry albυm." as the story claimed. Stapleton's social media profiles and website do not mention any such objection and no news websites have reported on it.
A copy of the article (archived here) appeared on a website named "Fancy 4 Work" on February 9, 2025 under a title that read "Chris Stapleton Has Filed an Official Objection to Beyoncé's Grammy Win: "Even She Admits This Is Not a Country Album." It opened:
In a sυrprisiпg tυrп of eveпts, coυпtry mυsic star Chris Stapletoп has officially filed aп objectioп to Beyoпcé's receпt Grammy wiп for Best Coυпtry Αlbυm for her project "Reпaissaпce." Stapletoп's move has igпited a heated debate withiп the mυsic iпdυstry, as he argυes that the albυm does пot fit the traditioпal criteria of a coυпtry record.
The coпtroversy begaп wheп Beyoпcé's "Reпaissaпce" was пomiпated aпd sυbseqυeпtly awarded the Grammy for Best Coυпtry Αlbυm, a decisioп that left maпy iп the coυпtry mυsic commυпity qυestioпiпg the validity of the wiп. Stapletoп, kпowп for his soυlfυl voice aпd aυtheпtic coυпtry soυпd, expressed his coпcerпs iп a statemeпt, sayiпg, "Eveп she admits this is пot a coυпtry albυm."
The article followed a formulaic structure often used in clickbait article headlines: a person, company or group that is liked or disliked by the intended audience for political or cultural reasons gets (fictionally) punished or rewarded in some way, for example by losing or gaining a contract, job, endorsement, business deal, award or title.
The website posts dozens of articles per day, sometimes in multiple different languages, indicating it may be part of a content farm or spam network.
The website did not list owners or have an 'About' page. According to a lookup on whois.com (archived here) the domain name fancy4work.com was registered by an anonymous person or organization.
The exact same article, sometimes with minor variations likely caused by sloppy copying and pasting, has appeared on several other websites that do little original reporting, for example on Batamalite Media (archived here) and Legend Horizon (archived here).
A search on Google News for stories mentioning Stapleton and the phrase "Eveп she admits this is пot a coυпtry albυm" did not return any results (archived here). Neither did the news section of Stapleton's website (archived here), his X account (archived here) and Facebook page (archived here).
Lead Stories reached out to the email address listed on Stapleton's website for comment. This story will be updated once we receive a reply.
