Beyonce said she is not anti-police, a few months after her Super Bowl halftime show performance was perceived as spreading messages against law enforcement.

"I'm an artist and I think the most powerful art is usually misunderstood," she told Elle for its May 2016 issue. "But anyone who perceives my message as anti-police is completely mistaken.

"I have so much admiration and respect for officers and the families of officers who sacrifice themselves to keep us safe. But let's be clear: I am against police brutality and injustice. Those are two separate things."

She said the seeds of why people probably felt uncomfortable by her "Formation" performance were planted way before she took the stage.

"If celebrating my roots and culture during Black History Month made anyone uncomfortable, those feelings were there long before a video and long before me," she said. "I'm proud of what we created and I'm proud to be a part of a conversation that is pushing things forward in a positive way."

Though the lyrics to the song "Formation" don't contain any references to the police, the video for it can be interpreted as taking a stand against police brutality, if not law enforcement altogether.

Some public figures and organizations, such as former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and the National Sheriffs' Association, blasted Beyonce for using a platform as big as the Super Bowl to spread her political messages.

An anti-Beyonce rally was planned outside NFL headquarters in New York City in February, but it was so sparsely attended that the New York Post declared it the "worst-attended protest ever."