Beyoncé lit up New York City museums last week with a worded advertisement promoting her new country album. However, according to one museum, she was “not authorized” to do so.
Representatives for the Guggenheim Museum denied giving Beyoncé permission to project advertisements for her forthcoming album on the outside of the building.
“The Guggenheim was not informed about and did not authorize this activation,” a spokesperson told Variety.
“However, we invite the public—including Beyoncé and her devoted fans—to visit the museum May 16–20 when we present projections by artist Jenny Holzer on the facade of our iconic building to celebrate the opening of her major exhibition.”
The decorated Grammy winner caught attention on March 20 when she placed promotional visuals for her “Cowboy Carter” album on several New York City museums, including the Guggenheim, the Museum of Art and Design, the Whitney, and the New Museum.
“This ain’t a country album. This is a ‘Beyoncé’ album,” the advertisements said along with the album’s title and March 29th release date.
Fans of the “Cuff It” singer went to the museum hoping to see the advertisement in person but posted images showing a blank building. Others suggested there was never any projection, while some claimed that it was projected for a short moment, or that images of the projection were digitally altered to include the text.
Guggenheim seemingly tried to profit off the hype by posting an Instagram photo of Franz Marc’s 1910 painting “Three Horses Drinking” with the caption “This ain’t Texas,” referring to the opening lines from Beyoncé’s chart-topping new single “Texas Hold ‘Em.”
Beyoncé explained the inspiration behind her new country-inspired album last week in a lengthy Instagram caption announcing the 10-day countdown until the album’s release. The mother of three revealed she began work on the project five years ago after she had an experience where she “did not feel welcomed.”
“This album has been over five years in the making. It was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t,” she wrote. “But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of country music and studied our rich musical archive.”
She was likely referring to her 2016 performance of “Daddy Lessons” at the Country Music Association Awards alongside the group then known as the Dixie Chicks. Beyoncé’s appearance was met with backlash on social media from the country community by fans who were bothered by her inclusion at the ceremony.
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