A country radio station in Oklahoma that received criticism earlier this week for not playing Beyoncé’s new song “Texas Hold ‘Em” is now playing the tune.
KYKC-FM added the song to its country playlist, Roger Harris, a general manager for South Central Oklahoma Radio Enterprises, which oversees KYKC, told CBS News in an email Wednesday. Harris said it was also included in playlists of two other stations it oversees, KCFC-FM and KADA-FM.
The move comes after a fan requested “Texas Hold ‘Em” — a country song about Beyoncé’s home state of Texas — only to have the request shut down by the station.
The fan posted SCORE’s reply to social media, which read that “We do not play Beyoncé on KYKC as we are a country music station.”
The response generated outcry and accusations of racism online from the Beyhive — Beyoncé’s ardent fanbase.
Harris told CBS News that the station initially didn’t know Beyoncé had released two country music songs — “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages” — following Super Bowl LVIII , and explained that the response to the fan was a “standard reply” since KYKC don’t play her music — but does on to two of its others. In addition, Harris said KYKC didn’t “even have the song.”