Megyn Kelly was not having any of Beyoncé’s cover version of the hit song “Jolene” — saying that the pop star put a feminist spin on Dolly Parton’s 1973 country original that is “bass-ackwards.”
“Queen Bey got her hands on the song and God, forbid she sing anything that makes her look less than all empowered with the muscle,” Kelly told Sky News on Wednesday.
“So now she’s got to change it to, if you come by my man, I’m basically going to beat the hell out of you.”
Kelly, the host of the SiriusXM podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show,” accused Beyoncé of turning the song “into her version of a badass” because “that’s what modern-day ‘feminism’ looks like.”
She said the pop star was “completely missing that the true power move is to write a song about ‘Jolene’ not even worrying about this.”
Parton posted a message on social media endorsing the cover version put out by Beyoncé.
“Wow, I just heard Jolene. Beyoncé is giving that girl some trouble and she deserves it,” Parton wrote to her nearly 7 million Instagram followers recently.
Parton has praised the singer in the past, saying: “I’m a big fan of Beyoncé and very excited that she’s done a country album.”
“So congratulations on your Billboard Hot Country number one single. Can’t wait to hear the full album!” Parton said of the pop star.
The internet has been divided over Beyoncé’s country debut, “Act II: Cowboy Carter,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart.
She is the first black woman to have a No. 1 country album since the inception of the Billboard chart in 1964.
But the album, which includes cameos by Willie Nelson and Linda Martell, has also sparked debate centered around Beyoncé’s embrace of a genre that is typically associated with white performers.
Conversation surrounding Beyoncé’s country music explorations began when she arrived at the 2024 Grammy Awards in full cowboy regalia — making a statement without saying a word.
Then, during the Super Bowl, she dropped two hybrid country songs: “Texas Hold ’Em” and “16 Carriages,” eventually leading to the release of “Cowboy Carter.”
But country music fans offered mixed reactions with some radio stations refusing to play the songs.
In February, “Texas Hold ’Em” reached No. 1 on the country airplay chart, making her the first black woman to top that chart as well.
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