As a politician, being asked your opinion on a beloved pop-culture figure is the equivalent of a public relations layup: Why, of course you like [person that most people like], especially [that thing of theirs that people especially like]. So when Amy O’Connor of Ireland’s the Daily Edge asked all 158 of the Republic’s TDs—short for Teachta Dála, the equivalent of a member of Parliament—whether they liked Beyoncé, the responses were about what you’d expect. Of the 37 TDs who responded to her three-part query—Do you like Beyoncé? If so, what is your favorite song? If not, why not?—26 professed their love for Queen B, none more emphatically than the Fianna Fáil party’s Brendan Smith, who wrote back, “OF COURSE, WHO DOESN’T.” Nine named “Halo” their favorite track, with “Crazy in Love” and “Single Ladies” following far behind.
There were dissenters, of course, a few TDs willing to risk the Beyhive’s wrath and proclaim their indifference if not outright dislike. “Lol,” wrote Thomas Pringle. “The answer to the question is no I don’t like Beyoncé. Well I’m not sure if I do or not I’ve never listened to her stuff. Should we all like Beyoncé? It seems from your question that it would be surprising if we didn’t.” Brendan Ryan feels that she’s gone down the wrong path in recent years: “I’m not a big fan of Beyoncé anymore,” he said. “I felt she was at her most musically creative when part of Destiny’s Child.” And Sinn Féin’s Pat Buckley has a bone to pick with her extramusical practices: “I’d like her a lot better if she paid the Sri Lanka women who sew her clothing line a decent wage while she enjoys a personal wealth of over a quarter of a billion dollars.”
Then there were those who were just trying way too hard, who rather than just expressing their love of a popular artist had to try and turn it their response into a political statement. Using “Single Ladies” to shout out International Women’s Day is fair enough, but the response from Sinn Féin’s Jonathan O’Brien is just painful:
If I had to pick just one (which is unfair) it would be “Irreplaceable.” Apart from the general good advice from Beyoncé that we should move “to the left, to the left,” it would behove us all as elected members of the Dáil that we should never for a second get to thinking we’re irreplaceable.
That said, I always felt “Bills, Bills, Bills” from Beyoncé’s days in Destiny’s Child was a good allegory for what has faced the Irish working class.
Take a lesson from Fianna Fáil’s Declan Breathnach and just let the love flow:
Like most people I’m a huge fan of queen B, to paraphrase Kanye she’s “one of the best of all time”. After a long day in the Dáil, putting my feet up and treating myself to some old school Destiny’s Child is one of my favourite ways to unwind. “Survivor” would have to be my favourite song of hers, what an anthem! It almost describes the life of a politician “I’m not gon stop, I’m gon work harder, I’m a survivor.”
If you love it so much, Declan Breathnach, you should’ve put a ring on it.
