Beyoncé may have delivered an earth scorching halftime Super Bowl show on Sunday, but now she is getting heat of a different kind from PETA.
The animal rights charity are up in arms over the outfit the singer wore at the New Orleans event.
To recap, the 31-year-old wore a black all-in-one bodysuit for her halftime performance during the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers’ face-off on February 3.
According to the New York Times , Beyoncé’s costume — which was designed by a once little known designer called Rubin Singer — is made from a mix of leather, paneled iguana, and python skin.
Inevitably, the singer’s attire has outraged the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ( PETA ), who have now released a statement saying:
“We would take a bet that if Beyoncé watched our video exposes, she’d probably not want to be seen again in anything made of snakes, lizards, rabbits or other animals who died painfully. Today’s fashions are trending toward humane vegan options, and Beyoncé’s Super Bowl outfit missed the mark on that score.”
This new row comes after the minor criticism that followed the singer wearing a Christian Dior blue mink fur coat to President Obama’s inauguration. But for some reason it was overshadowed by another controversy .
It’s not the first time PETA have gone after the Grammy award winning artist.
Back in 2006, Beyoncé was ambushed by two PETA members who had entered an eBay auction benefiting VH1’s “Save The Music Foundation.” The prize for the highest bid was dinner with the star at New York’s Nobu restaurant.
During the uncomfortable encounter that followed, the two PETA members asked the singer if she would consider not using fur in her House of Dereon clothing company, which she co-owns with her mother Tina Knowles.
It should be noted that the House of Dereon now lists some of its products as only containing faux fur, and the company reportedly no longer uses real fur in its lines.
Fast forward to today, as yet there has been no comment from Beyoncé’s reps regarding PETA’s statement.
Meanwhile, early Nielsen estimates have revealed that Super Bowl XLVII is now the third highest rated Super Bowl TV broadcast of all time, behind Super Bowl XLVI and Super Bowl XLV.
According to Nielsen , 108.41 million tuned in to watch the show, with roughly 104 million sticking around to watch Beyoncé destroy the stage.
While this means the singer didn’t top Madonna’s 2012 performance which drew 112.5 million viewers, there were other perks.
The Super Bowl spotlight was the perfect launch pad for the announcement of a new four month tour — the “Mrs Carter Show” — and the Super Bowl bump didn’t stop there.
The sports event bumped Beyoncé’s digital album sales by 230 percent and Destiny’s Child albums by a whopping 600 percent, Billboard notes .
Do you think PETA have a point criticizing Beyoncé’s costume, or do you think it’s opportunistic of them to focus on celebrities when the average person’s daily consumption of meat and use of leather and other animal products is far greater?