Asked what she thought
of Beyoncé’s black power Super Bowl halftime show honoring Malcolm X, the
former Nation of Islam leader’s daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz, said she “absolutely loved it.
Shabazz said Beyoncé’s performance of the anti-police song “Formation”
was the singer’s way of “making a statement [about] all the senseless killing,”
according to the New York Post. However, the fallout from Beyoncé’s controversial
performance came fast and furious.
However, the fallout
from Beyoncé’s controversial performance came fast and furious. Former New York
City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said Beyoncé “used it as a platform to attack
police officers, who are the people who protect her and protect us and keep us
alive.” Indeed, in the video for Beyoncé’s new song, the singer is
seen sitting on a sinking police car. One scene shows a graffitied wall with
the words “Stop Shooting Us.”
Black Lives Matter
activist Melina Abdullah praised Beyoncé and artists who are “willing
to raise social consciousness and use their artistry to advance social
justice.” Beyoncé timed the release of her controversial new video with the Super Bowl.
It all came just days after news that the singer and her husband, Jay-Z, pledged
$1.5 million to Black Lives Matter and other groups, via the
couple’s struggling streaming music service Tidal.
