James Comey, the former FBI Director, recalled an awkward moment from his tenure at the agency during a recent video posted on his Substack. He shared an anecdote about mentioning a Beyoncé song during a briefing in 2016, which led to an unexpected silence from his colleagues.
Comey reflected, saying, “In my role as FBI director, I was constantly updated on various significant matters. These included operations often accompanied by peculiar code names that, well, rarely made sense to me. So, I became a bit fixated on them.”
He continued, “One morning, I found myself at a large table surrounded by people for a briefing about a specific operation dubbed ‘Sandcastle.’ This was back in 2016, mind you. As it happens, Beyoncé had just released an album called lemonade, featuring a track titled ‘Sandcastles.’ So, I jokingly remarked, ‘That sounds like a Beyoncé song.’ The room was met with blank stares. Naturally, I attempted to lighten the mood by singing, ‘We’ll rebuild the sandcastles that were washed away.’ But nope, nothing. Just total silence. I eventually said, ‘Forget it, please continue with the briefing.’ It wasn’t until I shared this story at home that I finally got a laugh out of it. I tend to listen to classical and jazz music when I’m writing because it seems to unlock something within me, though I can’t quite explain why. It just feels liberating.”
Comey served as the FBI director from 2013 until he was dismissed in 2017 while overseeing Donald Trump’s first term. His recent remarks come after a federal judge was recently terminated amid a pending appeal by the Justice Department concerning a 2025 indictment that accused him of making false statements and obstructing justice during his 2020 Senate testimony.
In May 2025, Comey experienced backlash for sharing a photo on Instagram featuring seashells arranged alongside the numbers “86 47.” Reports indicated that this image could be interpreted as possessing political implications, with “86” possibly signaling “eliminated” and “47” referring to Trump, who was vying for a comeback in the 2024 election against Kamala Harris. Trump had also been the target of two unsuccessful assassination attempts.
Comey eventually removed the post, clarifying, “Earlier, I shared a picture of seashells I came across on the beach, not realizing it could be interpreted politically. I was oblivious that such figures might be linked to violence… I oppose all forms of violence, so I chose to delete the post.”
Following the controversy, he decided to disable comments on his Instagram account.
