Beyonce's famous Superbowl controversy in 2016, why was it so significant?

Beyonce caused controversy for performing her new single 'Formation' at half-time of the 50th Super Bowl, American football's end-of-season extravaganza, and the most-watched television event of the year in the United States in February 2016. According to The Guardian, the Formation song was criticized by right-wing parties and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani and they labelled the song ‘anti-police'. She was also criticized for aligning with the 'Black Lives Matter' movement and using the Black Panther Party symbolism in her dance routine.

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More about Beyonce's Superbowl controversy

The Formation Song

A day before her performance on Super Bowl, she released an unannounced new single with a politically charged video which was also performed at the super bowl. Formation was described by mic.com to be “one of the most political videos in recent memory” during the time. In the video, she was seen lying on top of a New Orleans police car that sinks into water referring to Hurricane Katrina which ravaged mainly black communities in 2005. With reference to the Black Lives Matter movement that details what was it is like to be black in the 2016 United States, her lyrics said “I like my baby hair with baby hair and afros, I like my Negro nose with Jackson 5 nostrils”.

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While Formation was part of her performance in the Super Bowl in 2016, she made several references based on black activists and 'Black Lives Movements' from the past. During the dance performance, the singer and the back-up dancers raised a fist in the air mimicking the black power salute by Tommie Smith and John Carlos at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City. In some parts of her performance, Beyonce and the dancers formed an arrow, straight lines, and a triangle shape but it was the ‘X’ shape that gained people’s attention. The shape referred to Malcolm X, the black civil rights leader who was shot dead in 1965. Moreover, although it was not a part of the performance, one of the pictures of Beyonce’s dancers surfaced from backstage, in which they held a picture with the slogan 'Justice 4 Mario Woods' on it, which referred to the one who was shot dead by police in San Francisco, at the 2016 Super Bowl host city.

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

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Beyonce’s Outfit

Beyonce in a low-cut leather outfit was criticized as being "not family-friendly enough" for the biggest football game of the year and her performance was said to have some sexual innuendo to it. According to TODAY Entertainment Facebook post regarding the event, while some of the viewers liked the high energy performance, many noted that it was highly "G-Rated". One of the users wrote she would love a Destiny’s Child reunion, but felt Beyonce was "over the top trampy" and she was embarrassed to watch it with her 9-year-old son. The leather outfits that were worn by Beyonce,  Destiny’s Child Michelle Williams, and Kelly Rowland and also Beyonce’s back-up dancers were highly criticized. Designer Rubin Singer spent months working on Beyonce's outfit for the show. He told CNN that the original costume was actually tamer than he first intended. He described the costume to be much more ‘risque’ and ‘exposed’ but as they got closer to the event, the team decided to bring it down.

Image Source: Beyonce's Instagram & stills from Beyonce's Super Bowl performance

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