Was Grammys ‘WAP’ performance too much for TV?

The Grammys “WAP” performance finally brought Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion to the stage to perform their smash hit from summer 2020, and it did not disappoint.

Both Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion are at the top of the rap game right now. With “Savage Remix (Feat. Beyoncé)” last year, Megan Thee Stallion earned her first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, while “WAP” gave both Cardi and Megan another coveted No. 1. Throughout all of their success in the past year, however, we still had never seen them perform the song live together outside of the viral music video.
 

With a song that permeated the culture in such a specific way, fans were more than eager to finally see the two rappers come together for an epic performance. Last night’s Grammys performance gave the fans just that with all the choreo, visuals and intensity that you would want from a “WAP” performance.

Read More: Cardi B puts spotlight on independent Black artists nominated for Grammys

After Megan slayed the stage with her own medley of hits, Cardi B took to the Grammys stage with her latest single “Up” before bringing out Meg for the highly-anticipated song. Dancing on a gorgeous stage with cash falling from the sky, both Cardi and Meg delivered their verses and dance moves to perfection. While the explicit lyrics were slightly altered (every chorus was changed to “wet, wet, wet”), Black Twitter seemed impressed with the performance, cheering on both rappers for their performance, with some saying the performance “won the night.”
 

WAP at The Grammys won the night. pic.twitter.com/WeqMebAWWz

— . (@hosthetics) March 15, 2021

? @iamcardib & @theestallion ATE. THAT. UP. #GRAMMYs

— Jackée Harry (@JackeeHarry) March 15, 2021

Ok Meg give me lifeeeeeeeee I’m readddyyyyyyy

— Sylvia (@SylviaObell) March 15, 2021

Read More: Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion added to the Grammys performance list

Of course, not everyone was impressed with Cardi and Meg’s show-stopping performance. Just like when the song was released last year, conservatives seem to be curiously using the song and its message as a talking point for cancel culture.

Matt Couch, a political analyst, wrote on Twitter, “They performed WAP at the Grammy’s…. Yet they are offended by Dr. Seuss, Pepe Le Pew, Mr. Potato Head, Christians, and Jesus.. It’s simple what’s wrong with society, it’s a moral issue like we’ve never seen, and it’s disgusting.”

This seems to be a common theme with Cardi and Meg’s music, with many conservatives using their platforms to try and diminish the impact of their music. Both Cardi and Meg have spoken out about this before as TheGrio has previously reported. Responding to Ben Shapiro‘s tweet about “WAP” last summer, Cardi cheekily wrote on Twitter, “I can’t believe conservatives soo mad about WAP.”
 

Megan also spoke out about some backlash to WAP recently, specifically about the male response to the song. Meg told British GQ, “Some people just don’t know what to do when a woman is in control and taking ownership of her own body. I feel like for a long time, men felt like they owned sex, and now women are saying, ‘Hey, this is for me. I want pleasure. This is how I want it or don’t want it,’ it freaks men the hell out.”

The Grammy performance is currently #1 on YouTube, and already has over 1 million views on the site. Check out the viral performance below:
 

The National Center on Sexual Exploitation was also critical of the sexually charged performance between the two rap superstars. The group issued a statement and declared that Cardi B and Meg “contributed to the sexual exploitation of women by glamorizing prostitution and stripping,” The Wrap reported.

“CBS allowed a glamorization of stripping and prostitution to be broadcast in front of a national audience – a portion of which were children – for no other reason than for TV ratings,” Dawn Hawkins, senior vice president and executive director of the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, said in a statement. “Despite the ‘popularity’ of the song performed by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion, CBS should have never allowed this kind of explicit performance to happen at the Grammys.”

“Prostitution and stripping are never empowering for women, as they set up systems that exploit and oppress women,” the statement continued.

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