Sammy Kershaw is going to the 2026 CMA Awards after all. The country singer, 68, announced it in an Instagram post on Thursday, November 12. That is exactly one week after he publicly complained that the Country Music Association had refused his request to walk the red carpet.
Us Weekly called it a major reversal. Kershaw framed it as a decision he and his wife, Mendy, reached together, which he said came after a lot of thought and prayer. They will accept the CMA’s invitation, walk the carpet, and attend the show.
Sammy Kershaw Announces CMA Awards Attendance After Initial Denial
Kershaw first went public on November 5, in a Facebook post. He wrote that the CMA had denied his request to spend a few minutes on the red carpet, and that he was pretty sad about it.
Mendy was at the center of that post.
Kershaw explained that the couple rarely get to attend events like this because of touring and scheduling conflicts. He had adjusted his touring schedule and booked flights and hotels so they could go. In his words, she was “really looking forward to us sharing a special evening together.”
Then the news came two weeks before the show. Kershaw wrote that he had been strung along for several months.
He also pointed to his history with the organization. Kershaw was made a lifetime CMA member and once earned a CMA Horizon Award nomination. The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee called the snub “extremely hurtful, embarrassing and very disappointing.” He added that he was not the only successful country entertainer shut out of the carpet.
Should the CMA roll out the red carpet for legacy artists like Sammy Kershaw?
Kershaw Thanks Supporters and Names Country Legends in His November 12 Post
Kershaw opened his November 12 post by thanking the people who spoke up during the week in between. He said the support had “meant more to me than you’ll ever know.”
He credited the thousands of fans and fellow artists who stood beside him, and told them, in capital letters, that they had helped make the outcome happen.
Legacy came up too.
Kershaw named Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, George Jones and Charley Pride among the people who gave their lives to country music, and said he would like to believe they would want him there, honoring those who came first.
What Mendy’s Evening Was Really About
Read the two posts side by side and the dispute looks smaller than the thing underneath it. A few minutes on a carpet. Kershaw expressed disappointment over being denied red carpet access at the CMA Awards. He said his wife had been looking forward to a night out with him, one they rarely get because he is on the road.
Touring couples live on rearranged calendars. He moved dates, booked the hotel, and built the evening around her. Losing it two weeks out meant losing something he had already promised.
Kershaw’s anger went public, but his explanation stayed private in scale. A husband trying to keep a plan he made for his wife. Plenty of long marriages run on exactly that kind of gesture, the rescheduled week, the booked flight, the evening protected from the job.
The second post leans just as hard on the people around him. He did not write that he won. He wrote that he and Mendy decided, and that others had stood beside them. One week of public frustration ended with a joint decision and a list of thank-yous.
What is settled is that Sammy Kershaw and Mendy will be on the red carpet together.
Sources: Us Weekly
