The song 's music video is part of a one-hour film with the same title as its parent album , which originally aired on HBO and was also included with the purchase of the album itself . The Jonas Åkerlund-directed video features Beyoncé destroying multiple cars and security cameras using a baseball bat . The video is often compared by critics to that of Janet Jackson 's video to her single Son of a Gun ( I Betcha Think This Song Is About You ) as well as the late 90s art film Ever Is Over All by Pipilotti Rist . According to Mashable , Knowles also makes reference of Oshun , a Yoruba orisha/goddess of water , fertility , love , sensuality . It received two nominations at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video and Best Art Direction , winning the former . One week later , Beyoncé released the music video on her YouTube and Vevo channels
2016 MTV Video Music Awards
2016 MTV Video Music Awards
Hold Up (song)