Rudy Giuliani Criticizes Beyoncé's Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has slammed Beyonce performance at Super Bowl 50, where she broke out her new song, Formation. Giuliani criticized her for putting her first in the air as an homage to the Black Power salute. She also had her backup dancers wear berets in the style of the Black Panthers.

In addition to their statement-making outfits, some of Beyoncé's backup dancers also held up signs that read "Justice for Mario Woods." He had been shot and killed by San Francisco police in December and the politician felt Beyonce was disrespecting law enforcement with her performance. He acknowledged that there have been bad incidents, but on the whole he felt police should be respected as they try to protect communities. He said “I thought it was really outrageous that she used it as a platform to attack police officers who are the people who protect her and protect us, and keep us alive. And what we should be doing in the African-American community, and all communities, is build up respect for police officers. And focus on the fact that when something does go wrong, okay. We'll work on that but the vast majority of police officers risk their lives to keep us safe”. Giuliani added “I think it was outrageous, it is football, not Hollywood”. 

Beyoncé released the song as a surprise Saturday and also dropped a politically charged music video to go with it. The video is set in New Orleans and includes flood scenes that make reference to Hurricane Katrina, as well as a shot of Beyoncé standing on top of a floating police squad car.