I imagine it must be pretty difficult to be in the spotlight all the time, being asked about your likes and dislikes, which is why I'm so impressed with Hillary Clinton's response to Beyoncé's album Lemonade . Obviously, we are all simple folk who love drama, so comparisons between the alleged real-life infidelity fans believe is suggested by Beyoncé in Lemonade and the real-life adultery that Bill Clinton perpetrated against Hillary Clinton during the couple's time in the White House has already been made. There's nothing more inspiring than seeing two of the most powerful people in the world casually slapped with the label "scorned woman." Truly warms my heart. Except... not at all.
In all actuality, I think it's super gross that we insist on distilling the amazing piece of art that is Lemonade down to something as crass as who Jay Z allegedly cheated on Beyoncé with, and why. (Assuming that even happened, which I'm not convinced of.) It's even grosser that we act like the only thing Clinton could possibly get out of it is a comparison to her own situation. But you know who isn't worried about that comparison? Clinton herself, who proved she has a way better understanding of the album's message than her haters do. Clinton spoke about Lemonade during an interview with Ellen DeGeneres, saying: "I have seen parts of it, and I do like it. It's great. [...] I really believe in making lemonade out of lemons."
Yup. There it is, right there. That's the attitude we should all be taking from Lemonade. It isn't about infidelity or revenge or even forgiveness; not really. Instead, it's about taking the crappy hand that life deals you — lemons — and turning it into something powerful and transformative — lemonade. And considering Hillary Clinton might have the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in her future, I'd say no one has absorbed the pragmatism of that message more than she.
At the end of the day, I think that the message of Lemonade actually has almost nothing to do with outside factors, because it's about self-reliance. In the case of both Beyoncé and Hillary Clinton, these are women who have been handled more than their fair share of obstacles, some just by virtue of being famous. And I think what Beyoncé has realized, and what Hillary is praising, is that transformation of an obstacle into an opportunity. They've both had excellent success in this arena, and it warms my heart to see Clinton's awareness of exactly why Lemonade is so wonderful without getting tripped up on the messy details of anyone's personal life.
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