Jessica Williams scorched critics of Beyoncé's Super Bowl performance on The Daily Show
Unsurprisingly, not everyone was blown away by Beyoncé’s incredible (and undeniably politically aware) performance at the Superbowl on Sunday. First thing Monday morning, right-wing publications and commentators on Fox News were going after Bey for, as one headline put it, “a Racist Political Statement In Support of Marxist Cop Killers.”
“I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers,” former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on Fox News.
By the time The Daily Show aired last night, correspondent Jessica Williams was done listening to the backlash. She had a few choice words for the people who had a problem with Bey’s performance, and with the video for “Formation,” released the day before the Superbowl:
“The black girl magic in that video was out of control. She was like a beautiful black Dumbledore but wearing a really nice weave and $3,000 worth of Gucci,” said Williams:
Her segment included a clip of Piers Morgan asking, “Why is race brought into the Half Time Show of the Super Bowl?” Williams responded thusly:
Race was brought in because Beyoncé was brought in, and, brace yourself, you might want to sit down for this, Beyoncé is black. And as a black person you walk around every day constantly reminded that you are black. We’re more likely to get paid less, we’re more likely to get sent to prison, and we’re more likely to win a dance competition. What? It’s not all bad. The point is, Beyoncé is black and this song is her message. That’s what artists do. Their message is in their music.
She pointed out that no-one was criticizing Chris Martin, who performed on the same stage, for wearing an arm band promoting his own cause, the Global Citizen poverty reduction campaign. And finally, to the commentators tying themselves in knots over the performance not being “wholesome” enough to broadcast to middle America, she had this reminder:
“You know what’s right in the middle of America? Ferguson, Missouri,” she said. “Furthemore, I am so sorry this wasn’t wholesome enough for you. I didn’t realize singing about race was equivalent to Janet Jackson getting her titty pulled out at the Super Bowl.”