Former Eurythmics singer Annie Lennox called Beyonce’s performance at the 2014 MTV VMAs “feminist lite.” Beyonce performed her single Flawless which includes a sample of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie defining a feminist as “a person who believes in the social, political, economic equality of the sexes.” Lennox made her opinion of Beyonce’s performance loud and clear. She even spelled it out: “L-I-T-E. “I’m sorry. It’s tokenistic to me.” Lennox said Beyonce is among many artists who use feminism to appear edgy and as a means of promoting their careers while selling a cheap, sexy performance to a very young fan base.
Two months after Beyonce’s performance, Lennox has felt the need to explain the “slam” by comparing Beyonce’s feminism to Eve Ensler, the writer of The Vagina Monologues, who Lennox says is her ideal of a “feminist-heavy” individual. Lennox will be releasing a solo album, Nostalgia, on October 21. It includes old standards like Screamin Jay Hawkins’ I Put A Spell On You.
