Dolly Parton doesn't believe Beyonce's country album 'Cowboy Carter' was intentionally snubbed by the CMA Awards

In a new interview with Variety, Dolly said: "Well, you never know. There's so many wonderful country artists that, I guess probably the country music field, they probably thought, well, we can't really leave out some of the ones that spend their whole life doing that. But I didn't even realise that until somebody asked me that question. But it was a wonderful album. She can be very, very proud of, and I think everybody in country music welcomed her and thought that, that was good. So I don't think it was a matter of shutting out, like doing that on purpose. I think it was just more of what the country charts and the country artists were doing, that do that all the time, not just a specialty album."

The CMAs return to Nashville on November 20, with Morgan Wallen leading with seven nominations.

As well as Entertainer of the Year, the 31-year-old singer has four nods for his hit 'I Had Some Help' with Post Malone.

Other nominees include Chris Stapleton, Cody Johnson, and Lainey Wilson.

Elsewhere, in the interview, Dolly gushed over Taylor Swift and the way she has "handled" her career - and admitted she feels like an Aunt to all the young pop stars.

Asked what she thinks of Taylor, 34, 'Espresso' hitmaker Sabrina Carpenter, 25, and 26-year-old 'Casual' hitmaker Chappell Roan's music, she said: "I like them all. I'm proud of all the gals, and of course, Taylor Swift is amazing what she has done with her career. I just admire her very much and how she's handled her business, her personal life, and what all she has meant to so many young people. [She's] been a great inspiration. And Lord knows we need some uplifting people and things this day and time. So I'm proud of all of them. I'm old enough to feel like they're Aunt or somebody that's kind of looking down and saying, 'Yay, you go!' I think they're all great in their own way."