Amy Schumer releases video about being 'grateful to be alive' after Formation parody is branded 'racist'

The normally droll Amy Schumer has released a subdued video overnight after stoking a backlash against her comedic take on "Formation" with defiant messages on Instagram.

The comedian's latest skit parodies Beyonce’s most politically charged single yet. Performed for the first time at the Superbowl with a troupe of dancers dressed in outfits paying tribute to the radical Black Panther movement, "Formation" proudly reclaimed black female identity and became a symbol of protest at the instances of police brutality against black men and women which have rocked America.

Schumer has now been accused of undermining its message of black female empowerment by producing her own version on Friday.

The video, led by Schumer and Goldie Hawn and featuring the comedian Wanda Sykes and the actress Joan Cusack, was released on Jay-Z’s streaming service Tidal and shows the twerking, shimmying women dancing provocatively in a parking lot, in the woods, on top of mall rides, finishing with surreal dance routines around goats.

Suffice to say, the video was not well received. Hours later, Twitter's newest party broke out, the #amyschumergottagoparty, with criticism directed at Schumer's work ranging from problematic to accusations it is racist. Paper Magazine was particularly unforgiving in its initial assessment of the video: “not really so much of a parody, as an exercise in tone deaf white privilege for a song about black excellence and police brutality and Katrina that came out in February.”

Disproval was not pacified by unconfirmed suggestions Beyonce approved the video because of its release on Tidal.

Sykes, Hawn and Cussak have stayed quiet amid rumblings over the video, while Schumer responded by sharing a lyric from the song, “you know you that bitch when you call all this conversation”, adding: “Thanks for the exclusive release Tidal! We had so much fun making this tribute. All love and women inspiring each other. #strongertogether.”

But after only pouring fuel on to the fire, Schumer appeared with red eyes in a second video on Tuesday, telling fans she was sober and “grateful for all of this s**t… I’m grateful to be alive.”

Schumer’s representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.