I don’t normally watch Piers Morgan on CNN, but he was advertising a Monday night interview with Beyoncé, who is back on the scene after taking a year off to rest.
But during the interview, I was flabbergasted when this moron asked her a question about her “booty”!
I think TV viewers should rise up and make some righteous noise against this kind of “journalism.” But I’m getting ahead of myself, so let me backtrack.
I remember the first time that I saw Beyoncé live on stage, during a performance at a convention in Las Vegas. Destiny’s Child was the opening act for Smokey Robinson, and I have to admit that I was only going to see my man Smokey.
But those three young ladies exploded on the stage with a combination of energy, talent and beauty that was incredible. They performed like old school entertainers; you know, people who can actually sing.
She made a believer out of me, because she couldn’t fake that kind of talent, sincerity and graciousness during a live show. I was proud of her skills as a young entertainer and I could only imagine the joy she brought her parents.
Since then, Beyonce has won 16 Grammys, started an acting career and launched a successful fashion line. All of this, at the ripe old age of 29.
During this well-advertised interview, Piers Morgan continued to interrupt her as she patiently answered questions. It was like he thought everyone was tuning in to listen to him ask questions, instead of her answers.
Some of his queries were interesting, but most were self-serving and just plain dumb.
For instance he even goaded her into saying that one of the best moments of her life was happening at that moment, as she was being interviewed by him. Huh!? Then he decided to see just how low he could go as they took a special ride in a limo, on their way to a store in London, to buy her latest CD.
“Tell me Beyoncé, how would you compare your “booty” to J-Lo’s (Jennifer Lopez).”
To Beyonce’s credit she was classy as she artfully dodged the question.
“You’re so crazy”, she said with a smile. “I love J-Lo and I’m not going to compare myself to her. She’s great”!
“But who’s got the best “booty”? He pressed again, while his crew showed a picture of Jennifer Lopez, focusing on her derriere.
“I’m not doing that, I don’t know… okay she does”, said Beyoncé as she laughed and looked out the window.
What was the point of that question? I don’t see racism under every rock, but at the very least it was sexism. Yet I wonder, if this white man would have asked Lady Gaga to compare her breasts to Madonna’s?
Did he feel he could ask this outrageous question of Beyoncé because she’s a young black woman? I couldn’t help but have a flashback to a time when black women on plantations were at the sexual whim of every white man within close radius.
How could any CNN supervisor approve a line of questioning that is so disrespectful to a major star?
This isn't the kind of programming that we can allow to creep into the offerings of a “respected” news network. If we allow Piers Morgan to get away with this, we allow the bar to fall too low. If he can ask a question like that of a 16 time Grammy award winner and successful businesswoman, what would he say to your daughter?
Beyoncé remained a class act throughout the program and wouldn’t allow her reputation to be muddied by a jerk who‘s trying to make a name for himself and boost the ratings for his pathetic little show.
We need to call in and write-in to demand that they pull the plug on his show—unless he apologizes and admits he was wrong and that what he did will never be acceptable!
If we don’t stand up and demand respect for black women, who will?
Although I thought I was done, I'll jump back in since I was specifically addressed. Ziza, I do not find her performances offensive. I was simply responding to the apparent contradiction that some are offended by the questioning, but not by her actions on stage that would give rise to a question like that. And Glen, that to me is a horrible analogy to say it's tantamount to harassment or attack. I only suggested that the question was not out of line. In no way would I suggest that she would deserved to be sexually harassed or attacked.
With all due respect,Beyonce is a human being and deserves our respect as a woman first and we can't allow Piers Morgan or anyone else to get away with this kind of demeaning and disrespect conduct. If a journalist has a question about her costumes, yes he can ask her about the clothes she wears onstage and whether or not they are "too provocative or sexy." I have no problem with that line of questioning about her on stage clothing. Asking her about her "booty" is not appropriate and is completely out of line for a so called professional journalist. Glen's example is on point and echoes the sentiments of Ziza, who expressed the same feelings over the weekend.
Here's the link for Inauguration night; maybe it will help you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlUVkEsg1U4&feature=related
I of course agree with you on the "breast" question. I only used it as an example of how it appears that women of color are devalued in this society. This isn't about being "politically correct"; it's about having respect for the people who are gracious enough to talk to you. I hope you do see the Morgan interview with Beyonce one day, because as a journalist it will give you a new example of what NOT to do.
I am not as uninformed as you believe. Without going to your link, I am very familiar with the performance for President Obama's inauguration. That was truly a great moment, and like I said before, Beyonce always carries herself with dignity. So to say that I only see her one way is not accurate. Your response almost presumes that I believe the entire conversation should be about her sexuality. That is not the case at all. I am simply talking about one question in an hour-long interview.
Also, the "Booty" question was actually asked twice and Morgan also showed a picture of J-Lo's backside as part of this bush league questioning that has no place on a major news network. It was out of line and came out of nowhere. Sure, ask her about her costumes and people's reaction to them; but not about her body parts! We as viewers can't allow journalism standards to slip this low, even for one question ( or two).
Beyonce (though older) has not out grown the "Bootylicious" image. Have you seen her in concert lately? She still uses her "booty" as a draw. If you disagree compare her with say Sade and the way she dresses.
Yes, go ahead and ask Beyonce about her skimpy costumes and that some people consider her to be a bad role model for young women. That's a line of questioning that she should expect to be asked about. But asking her to compare her "booty" to another woman's is sexist and demeaning. We should not allow that kind of Journalism to become normal on respected national networks like CNN! BTW, Piers Morgan wasn't the first or the only person to interview Beyonce during her coming out week, after being off stage for a year. She did all of the morning shows that week and even performed live for ABC Good Morning America. Piers Morgan just did the worst job of presenting her story and he is being held accountable.
1) Is it your real booty, or do you have implants? 2) Are you and Jay Z really a couple or is it for show? 3) How much money have you given to Black causes?
Being in the industry, you should know, that industry insiders have all kinds of secrets to temporarily enhance a persons physical attributes (i.e. lace wigs which have a natural hairline, chicken cutlets for breasts, pads/fat injections for the booty, makeup to make your nose look thinner, glue to make your ears stick out less, etc). And none of that includes the magic of Adobe Photoshop. Maybe Morgan was trying to be cute in the comparison but it was tasteless. The real reason she could not answer the question, is because her butt is flat, and NO WOMAN in the entertainment industry, no matter how famous is going to put her "cheats" out there. To answer that would be like a woman with an A-cup who uses chicken cutlets to enhance her size trying to say she has a better chest than Salma Hayek. I suppose.....you could go there, but doing that would expose that you're actually an A-cup. One thing J.Lo and Bey do have in common is a love for lace wigs. In fact its rare if ever you'll see them with their natural hair. On the subject of booty enhancement Beyonce is NOT the only offender Nicki Minaj, Kim Karadashian, Janet Jackson and many white actresses and singers have been known to use removable silicone pads and fat injections. While agree with you that Morgan was out of line to ask, your assumptions as to why Bey refused to answer are somewhat misplaced. She is an entertainer after all.
The questions and his approach were inappropriate and disrespectful to women. Since his failed Beyonce interview, another woman, Christine O'Donnell walked off the set because of his line of questioning: http://popwatch.ew.com/2011/08/18/christine-odonnell-piers-morgan/ CNN is a respected news network and I would venture to say no other CNN host would ask such a dumb series of questions. His actions were tasteless and indefensible and Beyonce had no obligation to respond to those kinds of questions. Meanwhile, based on his ratings, Beyonce will be singing, acting and entertaining a lot longer than he'll be asking dumb questions on CNN!