The Super Bowl is a time for Americans of all races, religions and backgrounds to come together, enjoy sports and ignore real issues for a moment. So what in the world was Beyoncé thinking making a statement about racial politics to the largest television audience of the year?
I think it’s time Beyoncé calls right-winged fans back into formation after the last few days following her largely talked about Super Bowl halftime performance.
Queen Bey faced backlash after her performance of her new song “Formation,” which is about, to put mildly, the injustice of black people in America both past and present with references to the treatment of black victims of Hurricane Katrina, police brutality and other references of white racism.
Despite what naysayers spit, Bey-sayers would agree that Beyoncé knowledgably used the most watched television-sporting event to open the eyes of American people.
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani ridiculed Beyoncé for using the game as a platform to broadcast her views and claimed the entertainment should have been more “wholesome.” So, certainly we have to assume he would rather see another indecent Janet Jackson act instead of a rightful stand for justice.
“You’re talking to middle America when you have the Super Bowl,” Giuliani said. “Let’s have decent, wholesome entertainment and not use it as a platform to attack the people who put their lives at risk to save us.”
As if Giuliani had not properly thought out his statements enough, he also ignorantly forgot about many oppressed American cities. Maybe parts of middle America like Ferguson, Missouri just happened to escape Giuliani’s mind.
It wouldn’t take a reference to the Black Panthers from one of America’s top performing artists to startle a country if there weren’t a huge problem being ignored.
Beyoncé is notably one of the most famous people in America and her performance was a well-deserved wake up call to every American, not an unwholesome act. If not that then at least an entertaining halftime show because we have almost certainly forgot about the other performers.