“Baywatch?” More like Beywatch.
In what appears to be Beyoncé’s first visual from “Cowboy Carter,” the singer took on some of Pamela Anderson’s most famous looks in the music video for “Bodyguard.”
The music video, dropped in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, shows Beyoncé dancing to the track, as she cycles through three of Anderson’s most iconic looks.
The 43-year-old first sported a look from Anderson’s character in “Barb Wire,” sporting a black dress with a plunging neckline, knee high boots and long mesh gloves.
Of course, she also wore her own version of Anderson’s red bathing suit from “Baywatch,” though Beyoncé’s obviously read “Beywatch.”
Her third look in the video channeled Anderson’s outfit she wore to the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards, with a giant pink fuzzy hat, white corset and sparkly leggings.
The video wasn’t without some hidden messaging.
In addition to a quick shot of Beyoncé’s “Barb Wire” gun firing to show the word, “Vote,” the music video also ends with “Happy Beylloween,” seemingly a reference to Halloween, which occurred just days before the release of the video.
Instead of including signage from the VMAs, Beyoncé appeared to be at the “No Visual Awards” — a cheeky jab at fans wanting her to release full-album visuals for both “Cowboy Carter” and her previous record, “Renaissance.” The singer previously released visuals for her self-titled 2013 record, and her 2016 album, “Lemonade.”
Beyoncé addressed the lack of music videos for her two latest records in an interview with GQ in September 2024.
“I thought it was important that during a time where all we see is visuals, that the world can focus on the voice,” she said. “The music is so rich in history and instrumentation. It takes months to digest, research, and understand. The music needed space to breathe on its own.”
She added that music videos can sometimes take away from a song.
“Sometimes a visual can be a distraction from the quality of the voice and the music,” she said. “The years of hard work and detail put into an album that takes over four years! The music is enough.”
She also continued on her mantra of “You are the visual, baby,” seen on her “Renaissance World Tour” and in the accompanying concert film.
“The fans from all over the world became the visual. We all got the visual on tour. We then got more visuals from my film,” she said, referring to her 2023 film, “Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé.”
