Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was no fan of the Super Bowl 50 halftime show – particularly the part where Beyoncé showed up. Appearing on “Fox and Friends” Monday morning, he was outraged that the artist clearly used her performance to convey an anti-police message. Her backup dancers, it appeared, were dressed as members of the Black Panther Party. Fox News offers a detailed explanation of their controversial outfits:
Clad in a black leotard with a gold embellished jacket, Beyoncé was flanked by dancers who sported afros and black berets, reportedly in reference to the Black Panther Party. Beyoncé’s outfit was also a nod to Michael Jackson.
The dancers also appeared to make a symbol that paid tribute to Malcolm X.
Giuliani responded to her performance by insisting politics has no place on the football field:
"Can't you [the Super Bowl organizers] figure out who you're putting on? I mean this is a political position, she's probably going to take advantage of it. You're talking to middle America when you have the Super Bowl, so you can have entertainment. Let's have, you know, decent wholesome entertainment, and not use it as a platform to attack the people who, you know, put their lives at risk to save us."
The controversy actually began a day before Beyoncé’s Super Bowl performance, when she released the music video for her new single, “Formation.” The video appeared to make references to the Black Lives Matter movement and featured a young man who resembled Trayvon Martin, an African-American male killed by George Zimmerman in Florida a few years ago. In 2013, a jury acquitted Zimmerman of any wrongdoing, ruling he had acted in self-defense. The decision resulted in rioting and looting. Similar scenarios played out in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland, where angry rioters threatened police and torched their cities.
Citizens have no right to act like criminals when a court case doesn’t go their way. Yet, this appears to be exactly the kind of behavior Black Lives Matter encourages. Katie wrote an important piece on the controversial movement last year, equating it to a “racist, violent hate group” that promotes cop killing. She had plenty of evidence to back up her claim.
One final point: “Fox and Friends” host Anna Kooiman noted that Beyoncé “got a police escort there” before she saluted the Black Lives Matter movement.