Marc Lamont Hill’s Reaction To This Beyoncé Snub Was Beyhive Approved

For reality TV stars, one fast track to fame is a sex tape. For conservative political pundits, it’s attacking Beyoncé. For some reason, right-of-center politicians and commentators think that slamming Bey buys them cool points. It doesn’t. Hip-hop scholar and cultural critic Marc Lamont Hill could barely contain his composure in the face of such disrespect. A CNN commentator, Kayleigh McEnany, was the latest public figure to jump on the anti-Beyoncé bandwagon. During a conversation about the talent lineup for Trump’s inauguration, McEnany had this to say about the greatest living performer: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and it’s all what you see. Because when I heard Toby Keith, I was like, ‘Way better than Beyoncé, Katy Perry, and all the other Obama performers.’ Toby Keith is A-list for me and all the other deplorables out there.” It’s one thing to push back on Beyoncé’s lyrics and performance of sexuality — that's just shallow and sexist. But to insult her performance abilities is just…unacceptable. Hill’s reaction to McEnany’s comments was priceless.

Of course the Beyhive has already swarmed McEnany’s mentions. Did we know who Toby Keith was before today? No. But we knew before we googled him that he isn’t a better performer and certainly not more beautiful (in any beholder’s eye) than Beyoncé. It’s just science. Let me make it clear that in 2017, the true test of whether you’re on the right side of history is not whom you voted for last November, but whether or not you put some respeck on Beyoncé's name.