Three months following Beyoncé’s spectacular Super Bowl performance, her song “Formation” is still the center of controversy. As the Queen Bey gears up to return home to headline her Formation World Tour, the Coalition of Police and Sheriffs have planned a peaceful protest outside of the concert, according to Click2Houston.
The organization claims the popular song is anti-police, based on the visual Beyoncé released to accompany the song. In the video, the singer is shown lying on top of a sinking police car as she mouths the lyrics to her song. The video also shows a young African American boy dancing in front of a swat team, with the message of “stop shooting us” pictured on a wall. Since the release, Beyoncé has defended her video, explaining the song has been misinterpreted. It is in fact against police brutality.
Despite her defense, 50 to 100 people, including off-duty officers, plan to take part in the protest. The organization said protesters will be wearing plain clothing.
“I don’t know of anybody from Houston Police Department who is participating in any protest, or refusing to work any jobs or anything else because of Beyoncé’s halftime performance or any of her songs,” said President Ray Hunt of the Houston Police Officers Union. “There are going to be no police officers saying, ‘We’re not going to be doing our job as police officers for this concert,’ just as we don’t for anything else that we might not agree with,” Hunt continued.
In response to the officers, the Nation of Islam has called for a protest against the protest during the concert. The group considers Beyoncé as a cultural icon.
