Beyonce may not have gotten the thumbs up from Rudy Giuliani for her Super Bowl performance of “Formation,” but one descendant of a Civil Rights icon begs to differ. Ilyasah Shabazz, daughter of Malcolm X, recently praised Mrs. Carter for stepping up to the plate. While speaking to a group of teens at a Black History Month event on Monday (Feb. 29), Shabazz spoke with the New York Daily News about the much-talked-about halftime show, where the Queen Bey formed the letter “X” in honor of her father.
“All she said was stop shooting us,” she said. “She entertained us with a purpose.”
Shabazz went on to compare Beyonce’s message of empowerment to that of Lady Gaga’s at the 2016 Oscars on Sunday night (Feb. 28). The pop star dedicated a special performance of “‘Til It Happens To You” to victims of sexual assault.
“Lady Gaga was standing up as a victim of rape — her performance was for all the survivors and to empower people,” she told the Daily News. “There shouldn’t be an uproar because Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar say ‘Stop shooting us.”’ Shabazz also applauded Beyonce for the performance’s aesthetics. “I noticed the background dancers were all African American wearing their hair naturally and I thought that was very beautiful.”
Last week, Beyonce also garnered the support of another black leader: Minister Louis Farrakhan. Offering a retort to police officers in Miami, Tampa and Nashville who have threatened to boycott her upcoming “Formation” world tour, Farrakhan assured that the singer’s security would be handled by the Nation of Islam.
“You’re gonna picket, you’re not gonna offer police protection, but the FOI will,” he said.