LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: Beyoncé accepts Best Dance/Electronic Music Album for “Renaissance” onstage during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Beyoncé caused an uproar among some die-hard fans at the halftime performance of the NFL game on Christmas Day.
In a white bodysuit with chaps and a cowboy hat, Beyoncé rocked several hits from her iconic Cowboy Carter album, accompanied by artists Post Malone and Shaboozey. Near the end of her set, as she wrapped up her hit single “Texas Hold ‘Em,” the pop star was lifted up on a platform above the field. She made a finger-gun gesture with her hand, which prompted the release of a banner, reading “BANG,” under her platform.
Unknown to Beyoncé, the NFL has banned such a finger gun gesture among its players, and the use of it results in a 15-yard penalty for the offending player.
Infuriated fans on the internet raged that Beyoncé should be fined for her gesture, even though the punishment for bad sportsmanship is intended to discourage players on the field from such gestures and has nothing to do with halftime performances. Interestingly, most internet users’ anger over Beyoncé’s offensive motion quickly shifted to derogatory remarks about Beyoncé’s new status as a country singer.
With the titular instrument, the banjo, created in Africa, country music has extensive roots in black culture. Despite this, white country musicians and fans have a long history of excluding black Americans and overlooking their contributions to the genre. According to a study done in 2023, black country artists average a total of just 2.7% of country radio airplay, with black women receiving only 0.06%.
Since Cowboy Carter dropped in March 2024, it has received significant acclaim for its cultural roots, uplifting black country artists such as Reyna Roberts, Shaboozey, Britney Spencer, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy. Also featured on the album are singers Linda Martell, Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. An album Beyoncé revealed was five years in the making, the songs traverse a variety of heavy, complex themes inspired by the civil rights movement, racism and sexism in America, and the birth of country music as a genre.
Cowboy Carter broke numerous records, including making Beyoncé the first black woman in history to the top of the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Through claims that Beyoncé is not a ‘real’ country artist without a viable explanation of what it means to be a ‘real’ country artist, many country music fans have effectively demonstrated America’s prevalent racism and sexism in their attack on Cowboy Carter and Beyoncé’s debut as a country artist.
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