Amy Schumer Lands in Hot Water After Beyonce Parody Video

Amy Schumer Image by Getty Images

By Daniel J. Solomon October 25, 2016

Amy Schumer is being accused of culture appropriation and disrespecting Beyonce, pop’s reigning queen.

Schumer, along with friends Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack and Goldie Hawn, made a parody video of Beyonce’s recent single, “Formation,” a song that takes a provocative look at police brutality against African-Americans and includes references to the Black Panthers and Hurricane Katrina.

Laid over with the lyrics from the original tune, the video shows Schumer and company badly performing hip hop dance moves like twerking, and posing in a variety of outfits including sun dresses and police vests.

Some critics responded to the video by accusing Schumer — who appears in the video with a mostly white crowd — of culturally appropriation and detracting from the message of “Formation.”

“Like, wtf is wrong with Amy Schumer?! She gotta go. #AmySchumerGottaGoParty,” wrote Imani Gandy, a legal analyst and blogger, on Twitter, using the hashtag some have employed for this controversy.

Like, wtf is wrong with Amy Schumer?! She gotta go. #AmySchumerGottaGoParty

— Imani Gandy Corn (@AngryBlackLady) October 24, 2016

Has anyone taken Jay to task for allowing that Amy Schumer Sour Lemonade crap on Tidal? Are there not standards over there? It was horrific.

— April (@ReignOfApril) October 25, 2016

like does amy schumer even have a publicist

— TrickorTracy Clayton (@brokeymcpoverty) October 25, 2016

Schumer has been accused of racial insensitivity in the past, once after posting a Tweet she later deleted that suggested black men are more likely to commit sexual harassment than others.

She responded by insisting the video was a “tribute” to Beyonce’s original, and then said in an Instagram video, “I’m grateful. I’m grateful for all of this shit.”

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at solomon@forward.com or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

Daniel J. Solomon is the former Assistant to the Editor/News Writer at the Forward. Originally from Queens, he attended Harvard as an undergraduate, where he wrote his senior thesis on French-Jewish intellectual history. He is excited to have returned to New York after his time in Massachusetts. Daniel’s passions include folk music, cycling, and pointed argument.

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