Spike Lee Slams Beyoncé’s Grammys Loss for Album of the Year: ‘Straight-Up Bullsh–’

Spike Lee didn’t mince words when it came to sharing his opinion about Beyoncé‘s loss at the 2023 Grammy Awards.

Speaking to The Guardian, the director explained that while he’s by no means “the male president of the Beyhive,” he does have “love and support” for the superstar. “Her album is amazing,” he continued. “I know she’s won multiple Grammys, but four times nominated for album of the year and she’s lost every time? No disrespect to those artists like Adele or Harry Styles who won – it’s not their fault – but that’s some straight-up bullsh–.”

She is the most-awarded artist in Grammy history, but Beyoncé has gone zero-for-four when it comes to album of the year nominations as a lead artist. The singer has also only ever one once in any of the Big Four categories — taking home song of the year in 2009 for “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It).”

In his interview, Lee eventually widened the scope of his remarks to reflect on Black artistry as a whole. “We all know their work is great, because art speaks for itself,” the BlacKkKlansman filmmaker said. “But then it always comes down to this tricky territory of validation. Do black artists say ‘F–k it,’ or seek white validation and chase awards?”

While Beyoncé is still without a Grammy for album of the year, her latest single “Cuff It” reached a new high mark on the Hot 100 this week by leaping to No. 6 (chart dated Feb. 18).