Beyoncé, The CMAs And The AP

To this day, the Associated Press has yet to move one photo of the performance. The collaboration, a not-so-secret surprise performance at the Nashville event Nov. 2, gained attention after all mention of it was allegedly scrubbed from the CMA’s social media. The theory was that the Country Music Association bleach-bit the postings because the comments were vitriolic, with people still raging about the Dixie Chicks’ controversy regarding the Iraq War and Beyoncé’s believed support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

The CMA said the controversy was overblown. “CMA has not erased any mentions of Beyoncé’s performance on the CMA Awards. In advance of the broadcast, CMA removed a five-second promotional clip from ABC.com and CMA’s Facebook page. The promo was unapproved and CMA removed it prior to the broadcast,” the organization said in a statement. “Beyoncé’s performance with Dixie Chicks was a highlight of the evening and we are continuing to share the amazing full-length performance clip via our official social channels.”

However, the Associated Press uploaded shots from nearly every performance from the event except one: photos from the celebrated, surprise collaboration have yet to appear on the AP newswire. AP did not respond to Pollstar‘s request for information regarding the unavailability of images from the performance. However, Sarah Trahern, CEO of the CMA, has stated that Beyonce provided her own photographer, as well as documentarian, for the CMAs, which would explain why none were available from the AP.

Instead, Trahern said photos were available at Beyonce.com as well as an alternate version of “Daddy Lessons,” the song performed. Parkwood Entertainment, the management company founded by Beyoncé, has worked with the AP in the past to publish live shots from Bey’s tour.