Police unions south of the border are criticizing Beyonce and calling for a boycott because they think her work contains “anti-police” messages. The Grammy-winning singer announced her 2016 Formation World Tour in a commercial after she performed at the halftime show with Bruno Mars and Coldplay.
Advertisement
According to reports, the NYPD believe that the star’s half-time show at the Super Bowl on 7 February (16) promoted hostility towards police to the millions of viewers who were watching at home.
Unions in Miami, Tampa and Nashville are either calling for officers to boycott her music or urging them not to volunteer to work at her shows.
However, Nashville’s FOP President Sgt. Danny Hale is asking officers not to volunteer in the wake of Beyonce’s Super Bowl 50 performance that referenced the Black Panthers movement.
Tampa Police Benevolent Association President Vincent Gericitano posted a statement on the group’s website saying it was “disgusted” with the Super Bowl show and “equally disgusted” with her new music video.
Critics have objected to the #BlackLivesMatter themes in both, and specifically to her backup dancers at the halftime performance being outfitted in Black Panther-like costumes.
Beyonce is set to perform at Raymond James Stadium on April 29, but before that, she’ll perform in Miami, where her sold out tour will launch April 27. But he said rank-and-file Nashville police officers shouldn’t sign up. On another day while flipping through the television channels, I did mistakenly watch her “Formation” video that shows scenes of a young black boy dancing in front of police in riot gear, who signal their surrender by putting their hands up, referencing the “Hands up, don’t shoot” anthem of the Black Lives Matter movement inspired by the 2014 death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. She plays Tampa two days later.
Tampa Police did not clarify if officers could be forced to work the concert or if officers already on duty that night could be reassigned to cover the concert.
A spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Police Department later responded to Ortiz’s statement, reiterating that his stance does not mean officers have abandoned their duties. “Whether they sign up, it’s up to them”.
Advertisement
Members of the Miami chapter of the FOP, the national police union, voted to boycott Beyoncé’s April 26 show at Marlins Stadium, local union president, Lt. Javier Ortiz, confirmed Thursday.
