When Russell Simmons appeared on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” Monday night to promote his new book about meditation, he probably had no idea his interview with Bill O’Reilly would focus on Beyoncé.
After introducing Simmons’ book incorrectly, O’Reilly didn’t even give the Def Jam Records co-founder 30 seconds to talk about his work before he started questioning him about Beyoncé’s artistic choices.
First of all, how rude. I don’t understand why O’Reilly would think Simmons should answer for Beyoncé just because he’s a black businessman involved in the musical community.
Regardless, the political pundit was bold in saying, “Beyoncé in the back of a limo having sex, referencing Monica Lewinski. That’s art?”
O’Reilly was talking about “Partition,” a song in which Beyoncé, a grown-ass, married woman, celebrates being a feminist and enjoying sex with her husband.
Now, before I go into defending-my-BFF mode — because although we’ve never met, I do look at Beyoncé as my super cool and talented best friend — I will say that I don’t think O’Reilly was trying to be as offensive as he came off when he implied that “Partition” falls under the category of “exploitative garbage.”
He was arguing that artists have an obligation to protect impressionable children who lack parental guidance.
And while I do agree that we should collectively care about the well-being of of our country’s youth, a more effective approach would be to advocate for comprehensive sex education in all United States cities. Because that would actually provide kids who don’t have “an amazing mother and an OK father” with an understanding of how unwanted pregnancy and broken families can affect lives — at least more successfully than dismissing an artist’s work as garbage.
Disagreeing with the self-interpreted message of a song doesn’t make it any less valid. Last I checked, art is “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” It’s also “the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.”
Beyoncé does a hell of a job doing her job. She’s an artist in every sense of the word, and she’s a positive female role model in the industry who shows women we can be successful even when the odds are stacked against us.
Not only does her latest album promote the feminist movement, but it teaches a few lessons, including that, “you could actually work super hard, give everything you have and still lose.” and “Enjoy your life, it’s short.”
Clearly, O’Reilly didn’t listen to the rest of the album, because in his statements Monday night, he affirms one of the topics addressed in Beyoncé’s “Flawless.” She includes an excerpt from a Ted Talk by Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, in which she said, “We teach girls that they cannot be sexual beings in the way that boys can.”
Which brings me to question O’Reilly, whose favorite artists as listed on his site include Luther Vandross, The Doors, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra, among others. All of these artists, whom I, too, enjoy, have created works glorifying sex. Is it OK that they address sex in their work because they’re male?
Although none of these artists are new to the media, they have and will continue to influence youth in our country and around the world. So before we point the finger at Beyoncé, let’s look at the media as a whole.
Regardless of your hard work, talent and whatever else you have going for you, haters gonna hate. And Monday night, on Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor” host Bill O’Reilly was being a total hater.
As Kanye West would say: Yo, Bill, “I’m really happy for you. I’mma let you finish, but Beyoncé had one of the greatest videos of all time.”
[Marjorie Nunez is a UF journalism senior. Her columns appear on Fridays. A version of this column ran on page 7 on 3/14/2014 under the headline "Hey, Bill O’Reilly, you can sit down now"]
