Amy Schumer defends her 'Formation' video, says Beyonce approved it

LOS ANGELES- After a social media backlash, comedian Amy Schumer penned an essay defending the video she made dancing and lip syncing to Beyonce's 2016 hit "Formation," saying she made it out of admiration. "It was NEVER a parody. It was just us women celebrating each other," Schumer wrote in the essay titled, Information about My 'Formation', which appeared on online publishing platform Medium on Thursday. Actresses Goldie Hawn, Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack and Raven Goodwin were also in the video. Schumer said that Beyonce and rapper Jay Z, her husband, had approved it and they streamed it last Friday on music service Tidal exclusively for the first 24 hours. The hashtag "#AmySchumerGottaGoParty" went viral on Twitter after the video was released, with many calling Schumer's video culturally insensitive. The "Trainwreck" screenwriter and star said her video was meant to bring women together. Beyonce's sixth solo album "Lemonade," which contains the single "Formation," was viewed as a power anthem to race and feminism. Schumer said she considered that album "one of the greatest pieces of art of our time." "If you watched it and it made you feel anything other than good, please know that was not my intention," Schumer said of her video. "The movie we made is fun and the women in it are strong and want to help each other. That’s what it was about for me." She wrote that viewers had "every right to feel however you feel about the video and me, but I want you to know I’m not going anywhere. Use whatever hashtag you like. "My mission is to continue to work as hard as I can to empower women and make them laugh and feel better, and I won’t let anything stop me." -Reuters