A single T-shirt was enough for fans to turn on Beyoncé during the Paris leg of her Cowboy Carter tour.
After her first show in the French capital, the 43-year-old diva had fans accusing her of “glorifying” a “genocide.”
“That shirt… ma’am someone in your team should’ve done a triple check. That’s tone deaf as hell,” read one comment online.
Beyoncé sparked backlash in Paris after wearing a T-shirt that fans claimed was “glorifying” a “genocide”
At some point during the Paris show, Beyoncé was wearing a T-shirt that featured the text, “Buffalo Soldiers”—an apparent nod to soldiers who served the U.S. military during the post-Civil War era.
The front of the T-shirt included an image of horse-riding men, while the backside had a long message about the all-Black military regiments that were called “Buffalo Soldiers.”
Several paragraphs were printed on the back of the tee to explain the history of Buffalo Soldiers and their legacy in African American history.
But there was one particular excerpt that raised eyebrows and made fans question whether Beyoncé was glorifying a group that helped colonizers crush the Native Americans.
The controversial tee featured the words “Buffalo Soldiers” and a long tribute to the Black military regiments
“The antagonists were the enemies of peace, order and settlement: warring Indians, bandits, cattle thieves, murderous gunmen, bootleggers, trespassers, and Mexican revolutionaries,” read the text on the back of the T-shirt.
Some netizens felt like the T-shirt was celebrating the genocide of American Indians and the all-Black military unit that played a role in it.
“CANCELLED,” one wrote, while another simply wrote, “That shirt is so wrong.”
“My sister, you need historians & educators on your team,” one said.
“The Buffalo Soldiers were foot soldiers of colonization. Beyoncé using her platform to glorify them isn’t just ignorant—it’s embarrassing. It screams, ‘I support anything associated with Black history, even if it’s inhumane,’” read another comment. “Not every piece of Black history is honorable just because it’s Black.”
“I love her but I really wish that there was much more thought put into this before giving it the green light,” one commented online
“Yall are talking about nuance but where is the nuance in labeling Mexican Revolutionaries and Native Americans ‘enemies of peace’ lmfao,” another said.
“It’s an out-of-touch shirt. The Buffalo Soldiers themselves and their history may require nuance to engage with and discuss, this shirt does not,” they continued.
While the Buffalo Soldiers are often celebrated as trailblazing African American servicemen, their legacy is deeply complicated.
These all-Black regiments were formed in the aftermath of the Civil War and played a significant role in westward expansion, which they did by fighting in the Indian Wars on behalf of the U.S. government.
While often honored in Black history, Buffalo Soldiers also played a key role in displacing Native Americans
Many find it ironic that Black soldiers—who weren’t even treated equally by the very government they were fighting for—helped in the violent displacement of Native American tribes.
However, at the time, it is possible that these soldiers did not fully know how brutal U.S. policies were towards Native people because of the limited availability of information, according to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.
There may also have been some bad blood between the two groups because some Native American tribes supported the Confederacy during the Civil War.
During Beyoncé’s third and final night of concerts in Paris on June 22, the Grammy winner surprised the audience by bringing out her husband, rapper Jay-Z.
Fellow rapper Cardi B attended the same show in a western-inspired outfit that reportedly included lambskin, cow and calf hair elements, and vintage heels that looked like horse hoofs.
On her final night in Paris, Beyoncé brought out Jay-Z to perform some of their joint hits
The couple performed their joint hits Crazy In Love and Drunk In Love.
Jay-Z also performed his single N***as in Paris.
The following week, they were pictured stepping out for a date in the French capital, during which the 99 Problems rapper wore his wife’s Cowboy Carter Paris tour t-shirt.
Netizens called Beyoncé’s shirt “embarrassing” and “ignorant.”
