It's been over a week since the Super Bowl, and people are still talking about the big game. Really, the talk is less about the big game and more about the halftime show. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira took the stage in a celebration of womanhood, Latinx culture, and their success as artists. While it was an energetic and wonderful performance, some viewers weren't pleased. They believed the Super Bowl halftime performance was too racy for a family-friendly show.
If you've watched TV lately (or football ever), you know the claims are bogus. There's no riot when the Cowboys' cheerleaders dance around in their suggestive uniforms. The outfits the two women wore were no more skimpy than what's worn during award show performances. Those also air during time slots aimed at being family-friendly.
If you want to go there, we can talk about the industry's attempts to shut down Janet Jackson's career after the accidental Super Bowl snafu that rocked the world. It's telling that these criticisms are almost exclusively leveled at women of color. It reeks of hypocrisy and isn't a great look for an organization that's already struggling with what's left of its POC fan base.
At Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, Jennifer was asked about the backlash to her Super Bowl halftime performance. She dismissed the notion it was too much for TV.
Super Bowl LIV was full of ups and downs, both on the field and off. While we're all supposedly tuning in for football, for many people it's the other facets of the big game that are more interesting. There are commercials, snacks, and of course, the Super Bowl halftime performance.
For the 2020 Super Bowl, Jennifer Lopez and Shakira graced the stage in a celebration of womanhood and Latinidad. The two women are seasoned professionals with more hits than we can count. As expected, they completely crushed their performance.
The performance, while energetic, playful, and fun, also had some deeper meaning that many viewers missed. Many noted the beautiful moment where Jennifer's 11-year-old daughter, Emme, joined her mom on stage. They may not have noticed that she sang "Let's Get Loud" as she and other kids on the stage were in cages, a commentary on family separation at the border.
Emme also sang "Born in the USA" next to her mother. J.Lo wore a vest that was, on one side, an American flag. On the other, it was a Puerto Rican flag. The fashion decision was a nod to the fact that Puerto Ricans are very much Americans, despite what any person in power might feel about it.
Shakira's performance also paid tribute to the other parts of her background. She let out a yell that inspired many memes and jokes, but it was actually called a zaghrouta. It was one of several nods to her Middle Eastern heritage throughout the evening, including her belly dancing moves. For those who saw it beyond the surface, it was a powerful moment of representation.
Sadly, these weren't the things people were talking about when the performance was said and done. One week later, people are still debating whether the performance was "too much" for prime time. They've slammed the women for being too sexual and provocative during what's supposed to be family-friendly programming.
Jennifer was asked about the reaction to the performance while attending the Independent Spirit Awards. “I think that’s honestly silliness,” she told Variety's Marc Malkin. "Both of us are really respectful performers who are moms and have kids and are very conscious of what we do."
"We (put on) a show that I believe was a celebration of women and our Latino culture that I think was really well reserved," Jennifer continued. Truly, you can see this at the root of all aspects of the performance. "And that small faction of people who want to be negative about it, I can’t even let in."
Who can blame her? Negative people project their negative opinions to try to bring others down, and these women aren't here for it. Instead, Jennifer chooses to focus on the "amazing" night that "so many beautiful things" came out of.
"The message of standing up for yourself, being a woman — that’s what I want to pass on to little girls," Jennifer noted. "Everything about you — be proud of it. I’m very proud of the performance that night."
Jennifer echoed the sentiment in an Instagram post she shared following the performance. "All I want my girls, the little girls on stage with me and all over the world to know is how to use their voices and be proud of everything they are," she wrote. "We are proud to recognize that all of us together are what makes this beautiful country truly great."
What many people who found the performance too racy fail to realize is that the world we're living in isn't exactly a wholesome place. Your kids have access to more concerning things on their tablets and through your streaming subscriptions than what was shown on stage that night. Furthermore, the performance aired around 8:30 p.m. on a school night, so one can question why so many kids were watching, to begin with.
There's a lot of overlap between the people who want Jennifer and Shakira shunned for the performance and the people who will tell you it's none of your business what time their kids go to bed. If not for the young, impressionable eyeballs watching, what's the real reason that this performance bothered so many people?
Even in 2020, people are still policing what behavior is fitting of these two as women, performers, and mothers. Quite frankly, neither of them have anything to be ashamed of.
Neither did Lady Gaga or Katy Perry, who wore about the same amount of clothing during their own halftime gigs, or Janet Jackson, whose nipple didn't pop out all on its own. Whatever the hangups with these women may be, let's leave the idea that raciness was involved out of the conversation.
