In support of law enforcement officers across the United States, a Miami police union is calling for a cop boycott of Beyoncé’s “Formation” world tour.
Beyoncé kicks off her tour in Miami at the Marlin Park stadium April 27, a tour fueled by the controversy surrounding the anti-police theme of her latest “Formation” video and Super Bowl halftime performance.
“The Fact that Beyonce used this year’s Super Bowl to divide Americans by promoting the Black Panthers and her antipolice message shows how she does not support law enforcement,” said Javier Ortiz, president of the Miami Fraternal Order of Police, in a press release.
After seeing the Beyoncé’s Formation video, Ortiz decided that if she will not support police, they should not have to support her.
“I… salute the dozens of law enforcement officers that have been assassinated by members of the Black Panthers,” Ortiz wrote.
Ortiz did not make it clear whether or not police would be staffing the concert, but a Miami Police Department spokesperson, Officer Frederic Burden, told The Washington Post that the event have adequate police coverage. Burden notes that these types of events are generally staffed on a voluntary basis.
Beyoncé’s second performance of the world tour will take place in Tampa, and police attitudes towards Beyoncé anti-police tone run statewide.
“A lot of our members are still quite upset with the division that’s being protected,” James Preston, president of the Florida State Fraternal Police Order, told The Washington Post. “They’re not willing to forgive just yet.”
“The officers are pretty much fed up with the narrative that’s out there now that is anti-police across the nation,” Preston said after a statewide meeting held Saturday.
#FOP-BOYCOTTS-BEYONCÉ pic.twitter.com/OJaauApbc4
— Miami FOP 20 (@JavierOrtizFOP) February 18, 2016