Piers Morgan Tells Beyonce How To Be A Black Woman, Matt McGory Responds
By Kristy Puchko | Celebrity | April 26, 2016 |
By Kristy Puchko | Celebrity | April 26, 2016 |
Piers Morgan knows what’s best for women, according to Piers Morgan. The English journalist/TV personality has assured the world he’s not sexist as he slut shamed Susan Sarandon and Kim Kardashian for how each chose to show their bodies in public. And now he’s penned an editorial about how Beyonce is being a black woman all wrong.
In an editorial for The Daily Male* Mail, Morgan calls Beyonce a “born-again-black woman” and openly criticizes her decision to get political in her Superbowl performance, her “Formation” video, and “Lemonade.” He calls Beyonce’s inclusion of the mothers of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown in Beyonce’s new visual album “shameless exploitation,” claiming she’s using these women’s tragedy for her commercial gain.
Morgan misses when Beyonce was just bubbly and apolitical, like that time they shared scones. It’s important to Morgan that you know he and Beyonce are buddies. So his judgement about how a black woman chooses to express herself isn’t some sort of cultural colonialism or misguided racism, because he doesn’t only have a black friend, he’s hung with Beyonce. He goes on:
“Beyoncé then was unrecognisable from the militant activist we see now. Then, she was at pains to be seen as an entertainer and musician and not as a black woman who sings…The new Beyoncé wants to be seen as a black woman political activist first and foremost, entertainer and musician second.”
One, if Morgan can’t see the genius in “Lemonade”s music and visuals, then truly, we grieve for him. And if he prefers Beyonce’s less political jams, that’s his business. But then he writes:
“But I have to be honest, I preferred the old Beyoncé. The less inflammatory, agitating one.The one who didn’t use grieving mothers to shift records and further fill her already massively enriched purse.
The one who didn’t play the race card so deliberately and to my mind, unnecessarily.
The one who wanted to be judged on her stupendous talent not her skin color, and wanted us all to do the same.”
Morgan here displays a high level of privilege and a shockingly low level of self-awareness. He notes in his piece that Beyonce herself has said she hasn’t faced much racism in her life, and then wonders why racism would bother her, never realizing that she—a black mother—is witnessing black mothers across the nation mourn for their children slain by the people intended to protect them. That she’s decided she could not sit silently by as people—of all races—across the nation rise up in support of Black Lives Matter because too often our police and media act like they don’t.
I’m sure Morgan’s comments are getting him inundated by Beyhive emojis and the like. But Orange Is The New Black star/Pajiba crush Matt McGory took the fight to Morgan on Twitter, persistently trying to reveal to pundit his blind spot. Morgan tweeted that he has “huge respect for Beyonce.” And McGory responded:
A man who loves his mom can still be a misogynist, right? I don't believe that saying you have "huge @piersmorgan https://t.co/7WA9fEquLY
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
.@piersmorgan different than saying you have "black friends" and therefore can't be racist. Do you agree with that?
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
.@piersmorgan I think it depends what aspect of the work you're critiquing. If you don't like the melodies that's one thing. But if you're
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
.@piersmorgan critiquing her way of speaking about her experiences as a black woman (something you and I will never experience) you are
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
.@piersmorgan essentially colluding with the status quo (which is the silencing and discrimination of black women). Truth is, no one sees
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
.@piersmorgan themselves as racist. I can even imagine the KKK saying, "We aren't racist it's just that black people…" Racism exists on a
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
.@piersmorgan spectrum and you don't have to "feel hateful" to be doing a disservice to anti-racism and thus, supporting racism. Make sense?
— Matt McGorry (@MattMcGorry) April 25, 2016
Beyonce has not responded to Morgan. And frankly, I don’t think she has to. “Lemonade” speaks for itself.
*Kristy Puchko made a Freudian slip and went with it.
