They gave this cowboy the boot.

Singer Lil Nas X is embroiled in a genre feud — and claims of discrimination — this week after his viral hit, “Old Town Road,” was banned from the Billboard country charts for apparently straying from the twangy sound too much.

The song simultaneously debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country Songs and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs charts, However, they then secretly removed the song from the country list, Rolling Stone reports. Billboard allegedly told Lil Nas X’s management that the inclusion of “Old Town Road” on the genre’s list was a mistake.

“Old Town Road” contains elements of rap, country and pop — but on streaming services, the song is categorized as “country.” The song originally gained popularity as a challenge on the video-sharing app TikTok, in which people country-fy themselves when the beat of the song drops.

In a statement to Rolling Stone, Billboard said, “Upon further review, it was determined that ‘Old Town Road’ by Lil Nas X does not currently merit inclusion on Billboard‘s country charts. When determining genres, a few factors are examined, but first and foremost is musical composition. While ‘Old Town Road’ incorporates references to country and cowboy imagery, it does not embrace enough elements of today’s country music to chart in its current version.”

Lil Nas X thinks otherwise.

The performer is voicing his opinions on Twitter: “Old Town Road was sadly removed from the billboard country charts yesterday. i want to say thank you to all of you who help me get it there in the first place tho! i love y’all fr! 🐎⚡️,” he posted on the Youtube clip of his song.

In an earlier tweet about his song before the controversy began, he posted, “country music is evolving.”

The incident is starting a debate about what songs, and what artists, get the privilege of creating crossover hits. Some people have called his exclusion from the charts a form of racism.

Rapper Ski Mask the Slump Dog called the removal “discrimination at it’s finest.”

One Twitter user pointed out a clear double standard in Billboard’s argument. “You guys allowed Taylor Swift to cross genre chart with “I Knew You Were Trouble,” rapper Ryan Besco tweeted at Billboard, noting that Swift’s pop song, which contains few country elements, was allowed on the country charts.

They were not the only listener to compare Lil Nas X’s experience with Swift’s. “the song is melodically led by a damn BANJO, has a southern country accent and is about riding a horse in wranglers. nas x old town road is more country than anything taylor swift has charted country for since 2011. stop this,” said one user.

Another user reminded that Beyonce’s 2016 country hit “Daddy’s Lessons” was rejected from consideration in the country genre at the Grammy’s.

“Ppl infiltrate Blk music genres, but THEY DO NOT ALLOW BLACK ARTISTS TO INFILTRATE MUSIC GENRES THEY DOMINATE,” they wrote.