Amy Schumer has defended her controversial Formation video, saying it was “just us women celebrating each other”.
The comedian made a lip-sync “tribute” to Beyoncé’s hit video while on the set of her new film, using co-stars Goldie Hawn, Joan Cusack and Wanda Sykes as support. Released through Tidal, the video led to accusations of cultural appropriation.
“It was NEVER a parody,” Schumer wrote in an essay on Medium. “It was just us women celebrating each other. The video Beyoncé made was so moving and I wouldn’t ever make fun of that. There is absolutely no way to. I make fun of myself a few times in the video as I do in everything I am a part of. I loved every second of working with those women to make this thing that lifted us up.”
Schumer also says she had Beyoncé’s approval to make the video and believes that many critics have confused her intent.
“If you watched it and it made you feel anything other than good, please know that was not my intention,” she said. “The movie we made is fun and the women in it are strong and want to help each other. That’s what it was about for me.”
The video was also criticized for using women of color in the background. “Amy Schumer uses the facets of Black womanhood that serve her best while casting Black women as extras and props in centering her own body,” wrote @FeministaJones on Twitter.
“You have every right to feel however you feel about the video and me but I want you to know I’m not going anywhere,” Schumer wrote. “Use whatever hashtag you like. My mission is to continue to work as hard as I can to empower women and make them laugh and feel better and I won’t let anything stop me.”
It’s not the first time that Schumer has come under fire for her stance on race. In some of her earlier sets, she made jokes which were later uncovered, such as “I used to date Hispanic guys, but now I prefer consensual” which she explained were “short dumb jokes”.
Schumer was also under fire for a tweet in September in response to a claim that she refuses to acknowledge that misogyny among men of color is no worse than that from white men. In a tweet that was quickly deleted, she replied: “how would you know? Statistically who is hollerin at you in the street more pa?”
