Country star Shaboozey delivered a memorable statement during an award presentation at the 2025 American Music Awards Monday (May 26). And he did it without saying anything at all.
While presenting the AMA’s Favorite Favorite Country Duo or Group category alongside fellow artist Megan Moroney, Shaboozey was caught off guard when the female artist followed up his remarks about Charlie Pride winning the Favorite Male Country Artist Award in 1997 with an unexpected comment.
Moroney responded reading off the teleprompter saying, “That same year, Favorite Female Artist went to Lynn Anderson, and this award [Favorite Country Duo or Group] went to the Carter family, who basically invented country music.”
The statement proceeded to make Shaboozey stop for a second a laugh out of confusion and most likely disbelief. His visible reaction to Moroney’s comments is now going viral, with users trying to figure out what prompted him to make a face.
Some TikTokers focused on the hilarious nature of Shaboozey’s reaction to Moroney, including @sailurgrl, who said, “ Did y’all see how Shaboozey looked at that Woman!”
Another user opted to take this opportunity to inform social media how Black guitarist Lesley Riddle actually played a part in the origination of country music.
“In the 1920s, A.P. Carter became the so-called father of country music. But let’s talk about how that exactly happened,” TikToker @zammyzamuel said.”
“A.P. Carter used to travel around the south collecting songs and stylistic approaches to music with this man right here, Lesley Riddle, a black guitarist and singer from Tennessee,” he continued. “Riddle was known for being able to memorize lyrics and styles from black communities and then teach them to the Carter family.”
On Twitter, users highlighted another music superstar who came home with two AMA awards that night “I think she confused the wrong Carter family,” wrote one. “She thought she did something…Beyhive assemble!” wrote another.
All in all, this hilarious moment during the 2025 AMA award show turned out to be not just meme-worthy, but also a moment to learn from.