Amy Schumer is defending herself against criticism directed toward her this week following the release of a music video in which she and some celebrity friends pay homage to Beyonce’s “Formation.”
In a Medium essay posted Thursday, Schumer said the video she made was “NEVER a parody.”
“It was just us women celebrating each other,” Schumer wrote. “The video Beyoncé made was so moving and I wouldn’t ever make fun of that. There is absolutely no way to.”
The video also featured Goldie Hawn, Wanda Sykes, Joan Cusack and Raven Goodwin.
In it, the comedian lip-syncs and dances to “Formation” while she and the other women were on location shooting a film together.
It first debuted on Tidal, the music streaming service owned by Beyoncé’s husband, Jay Z, last week.
As CNN reported earlier this week, Schumer had Beyoncé’s blessing to do the video. She confirmed that information in her essay.
After the video’s release, Schumer was accused of cultural appropriation on social media and was lambasted for appearing to make light of the racial politics addressed in Beyonce’s video.
On Twitter, critics used #AmySchumerGottaGoParty to express their distaste with the video.
“I am of course horrified and sickened by the events that are addressed throughout that [Beyoncé’s] video and didn’t see this [Schumer’s video] as minimizing that and still don’t. It was a way to celebrate bringing us all together,” Schumer wrote.
She added: “If you watched it and it made you feel anything other than good, please know that was not my intention. 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.”
“You have every right to feel however you feel about the video and me but I want you to know I’m not going anywhere,” Schumer said. “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.”
Schumer first responded to the backlash in an Instagram post on Monday, in which she called the video a “tribute” and thanked Tidal for the exclusive release.