As previously reported, the video finds Beyoncé crouched on top of half-submerged New Orleans cop car — an allusion to Hurricane Katrina — and makes reference to police brutality and #BLACKLIVESMATTER, with a graffiti message shown at one point during the video reading "STOP SHOOTING US."
As for yesterday's halftime performance at Super Bowl 50 in San Francisco, Bey's backup dancers were paying homage to the Black Panther Party's own 50th anniversary with their beret-topped outfits. The dancers had also posed for a photo, raising fists and a sign reading "Justice 4 Mario Woods," referencing a 26-year-old man shot and killed by San Francisco police late last year, following an alleged stabbing.
Beyonce's dancers paid tribute to #MarioWoods, black man killed by San Francisco police. #SB50 #BlackLives pic.twitter.com/m2Pl9i5qKL
— Jamilah King (@jamilahking) February 8, 2016
Beyoncés dancers in black berets at #SB50 paying homage to the Black Panthers 50 years after their #formation in '66 pic.twitter.com/YXpzBkkm6s — The Dream Defenders (@Dreamdefenders) February 8, 2016
Speaking on this morning's (February 8) episode of Fox & Friends, Giuliani called the performance "ridiculous," further describing it as "a bunch of people bouncing around and strange things."
Speaking with the hosts, he questioned the motives of Beyoncé's new single and the halftime performance, criticizing the singer for using the latter as a "platform to attack police officers" in front of a "Middle America" crowd.
"This is football, not Hollywood, and I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers, who are the people that protect her and protect us and keep us alive," he said. "And what we should be doing in the African-American community, and in all communities, is build up respect for police officers. And focus on the fact that, when something does go wrong, OK, we'll work on that. But the vast majority of police officers risk their lives to keep us safe…"
He added that Beyoncé was "taking advantage" of the situation, explaining: "You're talking to Middle America when you have the Super Bowl. So you can have entertainment. Let's have decent, wholesome entertainment and not use it as a platform to attack the people who risk their lives to save us."
FOX host Brian Kilmeade also criticized the performance and "Formation," saying, "And the song, the lyrics, which I couldn't make out a syllable, were basically telling cops to stop shooting blacks!"
Elsewhere, the Washington Examiner [via RawStory] reports that a Super Bowl party at DC's J.W. Marriott by the National Sheriffs' Association turned off Beyoncé's performance in protest. Illinois police support organization Chicago Code BLUE also protested "Formation" with a Facebook post titled "Boycott The 2016 Super Bowl Anti-Police Halftime show."
Beyoncé has not responded to the critics. You can watch the "Formation" video down below. Her "Formation World Tour" begins in April.
