Beyonce Brought Her Wading Pool Performance Skills To The BET Awards

I’m pretty sure it will soon be illegal to hold an big event in 2016 and not give Her Majesty Beyonce the highest spot on the bill (see: The Superbowl, the CFDAs), so it should come as a shock to exactly no one that Beyonce opened the BET Awards last night. The working title of which could have been The Beyonce is Extremely Talented Awards, because she took home a whole bunch of trophies.

Beyonce was given the Coca-Cola Viewers’ Choice Award (uh oh, don’t tell Pepsi), the BET Centric Award, the FANdemonium Award, Best Female R&B/Pop Artist award, and Video of the Year for “Formation.” But before she collected all five awards she was nominated for, she opened the show by performing “Freedom” with Kendrick Lamar. They went all out, too. Beyonce brought the huge wading pool she uses during her Formation tour on stage with her and they got into some water sports. Not like that. They kicked water at each other while dancing in front smoke and flashing lights. I’ve put the video after the cut, because it plays automatically. Although that might just be the telekinetic powers of the Beyhive at work.

Beyonce is truly committed to that performance. Personally, I can’t stand feeling damp. And yet, there’s Beyonce serving up face and emotion while standing in 3 inches of cold floor water and 12lbs of soaking-wet arm fringe. Like, it’s Beyonce, so I’m sure that water was pumped in from the purest part of Marianas Trench and stored in a Baccarat crystal tank, but still. I’m willing to give a slow-clap to anyone who is willing to perform in a pair of dirty water-soaked footless pantyhose and moisture-trapping sequin-covered panties.

Pic: Splash