Amy Schumer is taking heat for making a "parody" video of Beyonce's "Formation," a song and music video that were seen as "a celebration of all things black." Critics of Schumer's version said she was guilty of cultural appropriation and was making light of a song that centers around important topics like the Black Lives Matter movement. In a response published on Medium Thursday, Schumer insists that her video was never intended as a parody (she's referred to it in the past as a tribute)—and that Beyonce and Jay Z approved it, releasing it exclusively on Tidal for its first 24 hours.
Schumer believes Beyonce's Lemonade, on which "Formation" appears, "is one of the greatest pieces of art of our time." And while filming her latest movie, "we were all crazy for the album and also for Hillary Clinton. We would rush back to our televisions or phones to watch a stream of CNN to see the convention and watch Hillary and Michelle and so many extraordinary women speak. All of the women on set were bonded together from this music and from the election simultaneously. It was such a powerful time." She insists her video wasn't an attempt to minimize the importance of the police brutality and other events depicted in Beyonce's video, but was rather "just us women celebrating each other" and celebrating "bringing us all together. To fight for what we all want. And to do it together." Read her full piece here. (More Amy Schumer stories.)
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