Beyoncé is a force of nature. Even during an underwhelming Super Bowl halftime show (Coldplay likely to blame for it, but even Bey’s show wasn’t half the spectacle she put on at the Super Bowl in 2013)—she was able to make a powerful statement. She channeled black power and Michael Jackson as she sang her latest single “Formation,” a tribute to her African American and Creole heritage, released only a day earlier (Feb. 6) with a video that took on police brutality against black citizens.
But as she was on stage, viewers didn’t just see strength, talent, empowerment. In fact, as the Google Trends data on most-searched terms related to Beyoncé shows, people weren’t curious about her historical references, her heritage, her net worth. Instead, they were asking the internet such inane and stereotypical questions about women, it’s hard to tell whether laughing or crying (as in: screaming) is the most appropriate reaction:
Top five search about Beyoncé during the SuperBowl:
- How tall is Beyoncé? (In fairness, that is the most asked question about essentially everyone.)
- How many kids does Beyoncé have?
- How old is Beyoncé?
- Is Beyoncé pregnant?
- Is Beyoncé married?
To make things even more disappointing, Google reported that during and right after the halftime performance, search for live tickets to see Coldplay saw a 3,800% spike, while the one for Beyoncé “only” went up 1000%.