Unless you’ve been off the Internet since Saturday, you’ve most likely watched, or at least heard about, Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade. The videography was unbelievable and the music was incredible, as expected, but here are 15 of the most surprising moments we still can’t get over.
1. “Pray You Catch Me”
The film opens with Beyoncé kneeling on a stage singing, “You can taste the dishonesty, it’s all over your breath.” Within minutes, we’re left wondering what the hell Jay Z did to Beyoncé and what else she’s going to reveal in the rest of the videos.
2. Beyoncé craziness in “Hold Up”
Most of us have had a point in our lives where we’ve been wronged by our partner and have asked, “What’s worse, looking jealous or crazy?” Well, Beyoncé gives us the answer as she swings a baseball bat into cars and store windows: “I’d rather be crazy.”
3. When we realized that when Beyoncé said she had hot sauce in her bag, she wasn’t talking about a condiment…
Mind. Blown.
4. The sample of Malcolm X’s speech
In “Don’t Hurt Yourself,” Beyoncé includes a clip from Malcolm X’s iconic 1962 speech, in which he says, “The most disrespected person in America is the black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the black woman. The most neglected person in America is the black woman.”
5. When Beyoncé calls out Jay Z in “Don’t Hurt Yourself”
“Don’t Hurt Yourself” seemed like an attack on her husband in its entirety, but the last lines of the song made it clear: “This is your final warning, you know I give you life. If you try this shit again, you gon lose your wife.” And then she proceeded to throw her wedding ring at the camera. Yikes.
6. When “Sorry” became our anthem
In the lead-up to the “Sorry” video, Beyoncé says, “Ashes to ashes, dust to side chicks,” revealing that she’s singing about Jay Z’s unfaithfulness. To make the point even more clear, she sings, “Middle fingers up, put them hands high . Wave it in his face, tell him, ‘boy, bye.’” No doubt we’ll all be doing this the next time a boy does us wrong.
7. Serena Williams’s cameo
Beyoncé sits in this throne-like seat in a way that recreates Williams’s Sports Illustrated cover, which received major backlash for supposedly being too sexual. Williams is seen unapologetically twerking and owning her body in a society that has shamed her, and other black women, for it.
8. When she calls out “Becky with the good hair”
Beyoncé ends “Sorry” with the line, “He better go call Becky with the good hair.” Shortly after, Rachel Roy (who is rumored to have been the reason behind the infamous Solange and Jay Z elevator fight) posted a picture on Instagram captioned, “good hair don’t care,” basically admitting she’s the girl Beyoncé was singing about. Well, fans took care of that quickly, as Roy’s account is now private.
9. The tribute to the antebellum South
From her style to the country vibe of her song “Daddy Lessons,” Beyoncé takes us back to antebellum New Orleans as a tribute to her heritage.
10. When Beyoncé featured Jay Z in a video and we were all confused
After calling out Jay Z for infidelity in the first half of the HBO special, in an surprising turn of events, Beyoncé featured her husband in the video for the song “Sandcastles.” The song is emotional and showcases both of their vulnerablity. Singing the words, “Show me your scars and I won’t walk away,” Beyoncé seems to be saying that she is willing to forgive her partner for his past wrongdoing.
11. The dedication to victims of police brutality
In the video for the song “Forward,” there are scenes of Lesley McSpadden, Sybrina Fulton and Gwen Carr holding photographs of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin and Eric Garner—their sons who were killed by police. The moment was memorable in the most heartbreaking way, reminding viewers that even as the years have passed black lives still matter.
12. The feature of young black celebrities in “Freedom”
As if the song wasn’t already great enough as a collaboration with Kendrick Lamar, the video featured Amandla Stenberg and Zendaya, two celebrities who have used their platform to speak on their identity and experiences as black teens. Their appearance is coupled with the lyrics, “I break chains all by myself, won’t let my freedom rot in hell. I’ma keep running cause a winner don’t quit on themselves.”
13. The touching quote from Jay Z’s grandmother
In the final chapter, “Redemption,” Beyoncé includes a clip of Jay Z’s grandmother Hattie saying, “I’ve had my ups and downs, but I always find the inner strength to pull myself up. I was served lemons, but I made lemonade.”
Beyoncé goes on to say, “My grandma said, nothing real can be threatened. True love brought salvation back into me. With every tear came redemption. And my torturer became my remedy. So we’re going to heal, we’re going to start again.”
14. The adorable clips from Beyoncé and Jay Z’s home videos
In between scenes, the film featured cutaways to home videos of Beyoncé and her family. One clip was from the couple’s April 2008 wedding, which showed the two kissing. Other clips showed the pair getting matching “IV” tattoos on their ring fingers as well as celebrating Blue Ivy’s birthday during an intimate party. All of these home videos, in addition to Bey’s lyrics in “All Night,” seem to prove they have overcome any issues that may have occurred in the past.
15. “Formation”
Beyoncé ends the film with “Formation,” which we’ve already heard and loved, embracing and reaffirming black girl magic.
Overall, Lemonade tells the complex story of black womanhood. From Intuition to Denial, Anger, Apathy, Accountability, Reformation, Forgiveness, Emptiness, and finally Redemption, Beyoncé takes us on a journey with her in the most artistically beautiful way. What were your favorite moments from Lemonade?