This year’s CMA Awards in Nashville had Shaboozey stealing the spotlight.

From the opening words of host Luke Bryan, featuring jokes about Shaboozey, to a mention in producer Cody Johnson’s acceptance speech, the Shaboozey humor had mixed receptions.

Shaboozey, whose real name is Collins Obinna Chibueze, revealed to Billboard last month that he adopted his stage name in high school after a slip-up by his football coach.

Nominated for two awards at the 58th Annual CMA Awards, Shaboozey took to the stage to perform hits including “Tipsy (A Bar Song)” and “Highway.”

Before performing, Bryan hinted at Shaboozey’s appearance, joking about his song, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by saying, “Yeah, we call that a sha-doozey.”

Audience reaction to ‘kicking Shaboozey for years’ comment

Later that evening, Cody Johnson was awarded album of the year for his album “Leather.”

Shocked by his win, Johnson accepted the award on stage from presenters Don Johnson and Katharine McPhee, exclaiming, “I did not expect that,” before passing the mic to his team.

Trent Willmon, Johnson’s producer, left the audience puzzled with a comment during his speech.

“This is for the cowboy who has been kicking Shaboozey for many years,” he remarked.

Fans were left wondering whether Willmon was throwing shade at Shaboozey or merely making a wordplay with his name. Regardless, viewers found themselves confused and took to social media to express their thoughts on Willmon’s statement.

“The only thing I can think is that Cody Johnson’s producer was trying to make a joke about kicking ‘booty’ but ended up replacing it with Shaboozey, turning it into a terrible pun that nobody found amusing lol,” wrote one user on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.

Another user commented, “What do you think the person who said, ‘we’ve been kicking Shaboozey for years’ meant during Cody Johnson’s acceptance speech?? I was so baffled by that.”

Shaboozey responds: ‘Ain’t nobody kicking me!’

Not long after the CMA Awards aired, Shaboozey himself stepped in on social media, posting a picture from inside a limousine while smiling, accompanied by the caption, “Ain’t nobody kicking me!”