An online campaign to boycott Beyoncé and her music has picked up steam since the pop star performed a controversial tribute to the Black Panthers during the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday.
Social media users have been using the hashtag #BoycottBeyonce in response to the halftime show performance, which many, including former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, viewed as an overt attack on police officers.
During the halftime show, Beyoncé performed her new single “Formation,” the video of which is filled with Black Lives Matter and anti-law enforcement imagery. The singer’s backup dancers donned black leather outfits and black berets in an apparent homage to the militant Black Panther Party, formed an X on the field in what many have called a tribute to Malcolm X, and later posed backstage with fists raised in a “black power” salute.
Critics of the performance have been using the #BoycottBeyonce hashtag to promote an anti-Beyoncé rally called for Tuesday, February 16, outside NFL headquarters in Manhattan. Others have called for venues on the singer’s upcoming “Formation” tour to cancel performances.
“Are you offended as an American that Beyoncé pulled her race-bating stunt at the Superbowl?” the event page for the protest reads. “Do you agree that it was a slap in the face to law enforcement? … Come and let’s stand together. Let’s tell the NFL we don’t want hate speech and racism at the Superbowl ever again!”
Beyoncé’s performance was praised by her fans and members of the Black Lives Matter movement, and of course, social media users have rushed to defend her in the wake of the controversy:
https://twitter.com/CiPoxl/status/697493672078798848
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