During her Christmas day halftime performance during the NFL matchup between the Houston Texans and the Baltimore Ravens, Beyonce made a finger gun gesture that sparked an onslaught of jokes from NFL fans, joking that she should be penalized and fined. Recently, NFL rules have been strictly enforced against celebrations on the field appearing to involve guns or weapons.
One person joked, “15 yard penalty on Beyoncé. Finger guns,” sharing a gif of a referee’s flag being thrown on the field. Another person on X commented, “Well, the NFL will be fining Beyoncé next week for those gun fingers.” Another comment read, “Is the @NFL going to fine @Beyonce for finger guns?! #NFL #Beyonce #BeyonceBowl”
Giving their two sense on the halftime performance, another person wrote, “Still not sold on Beyonce as a country artist. Still seems like a pop star that just threw a cowboy hat on. It’s also hilarious that the league has been fining players left and right for finger guns and she’s throwing them around like it’s her job.” One user joked, “Player finger guns: Player gets fined. Beyoncé finger guns: She’s fine!”
Others offered more serious commentary on the matter, highlighting apparent double standards. Conservative commentator Mario Nawfal wrote, “🚨🇺🇸 BEYONCÉ PLAYS WITH FIRE: NFL DOUBLE STANDARD GOES VIRAL Queen Bey’s tone-deaf finger gun display at Netflix’s Christmas game highlights celebrity privilege, while NFL players get fined for basic touchdown celebrations.”
He added, “The performance, her first since husband Jay-Z’s legal troubles made headlines, seemed more focused on controversy than Christmas spirit, complete with mock shootouts at a family event. Looks like the self-proclaimed Queen of Texas just proved there’s one set of rules for celebrities and another for everyone else – even in her hometown stadium.”
As NFL players have met unforgiving penalties and fines for similar gestures, NFL executive Troy Vincent addressed the issue at a meeting earlier this year. “There’s no place in professional football for that,” Vincent said, referring to the gestures. “Think about where we are as a society. … I don’t think that’s where we are and what we’re trying to represent. We have a responsibility as professional athletes.”
Furthermore, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell also weighed in on the issue. “It’s a long-standing policy, and we are going to enforce that. Troy had a direct conversation with the union, I think, just last week about it. We’re going to continue on that focus. We don’t think it’s appropriate in those circumstances and sends the wrong messages. So, we’ll continue to do that,” he said. Echoing this sentiment, one person said, “So Beyonce can do finger gun gestures during a half time show in the NFL, but if players do that they get fined, and penalized? Double standard?”
Watch the incident from Beyonce’s performance below:
Note: The featured image is a screenshot from the embedded video.
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