Beyoncé pulled off one of the more memorable Super Bowl halftime performances in recent history. However, some have questioned her performance for being too pro-Black.
During a segment on Fox News, former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani said that he was offended by the performance of “Formation.”
“I think it was outrageous. I don’t know what the heck it was. A bunch of people bouncing around. I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officer who are the people who protect her and protect us. And what she should be doing in the African-American community, and all communities, is build respect for police officers,” Giuliani said in a rant.
But Giuliani never took the time to listen to Beyoncé’s lyrics or understand the meaning of her song and performance. The song is basically Beyoncé embracing her own blackness and southern heritage. She never rebels against police at any moment during the song. Her dancers did hold a sign which read, “Justice for Marlo Woods.” Woods was an unarmed Black man killed by San Francisco police after being shot 16 times.
But Giuliani and other racists can only see negativity in the performance. He was offended by her choice to pay homage to the pro-Black group, the Black Panthers. He was offended by her dancers spelling the letter “X” to pay respect to Malcolm X. From a cultural standpoint, it was arguably the blackest performance by a pop star in Super Bowl history.
And that was the main thing that made Giuliani uncomfortable. He revealed a deep insecurity within himself. He couldn’t accept a confident Black woman being pro-Black during the largest sporting event of the year. He decided to bring police into the conversation when the performance never placed blame on or disrespected law enforcement.
If Giuliani had his way, Blacks would only find acceptance in the mainstream when they are docile and accommodating to White Americans.
