Beyoncé’s publicist has called out the singer’s fans for “spewing hate” towards a woman who sat next to her and Jay-Z at a sports event.
Let’s go back to the beginning, shall we?
Earlier this week, Beyoncé and Jay-Z were photographed together at a basketball game, where they were seated next to Nicole Curran, wife of Joe Lacob, who owns the Golden State Warriors basketball team.
While the couple looked happy enough, fans were quick to pick up on what appeared to be an unimpressed look on Beyoncé’s face, as Nicole leaned over her to speak to Jay-Z.
This seemingly innocuous exchange led to overzealous members of the Beyhive flooding Nicole’s Instagram page with bee emojis and unflattering messages, prompting her to first disable comments and then deactivate her account completely.
Beyoncé’s rep’s has now spoken out to discourage fans from this behaviour in future.
On her personal Instagram page, Yvette Noel-Schure wrote: “[I] want to speak here to the beautiful BeyHiVE.
“I know your love runs deep but that love has to be given to every human. Every single day on that tour I saw love. Which is why I also want to speak here to the beautiful BeyHiVE. I know your love runs deep but that love has to be given to every human. It will bring no joy to the person you love so much if you spew hate in her name. We love you.”
In the wake of the online furore, Nicole told sports writer Ramona Shelburne that she had deleted her Instagram page as a result of receiving death threats, also revealing the conversation captured on film was simply her asking the couple if they wanted a drink, leaning forward so that Jay-Z could hear her over the noise of the game.
Beyoncé’s fans have grown extra protective since the release of her 2016 album Lemonade, in which she detailed her husband’s infidelity with an anonymous woman, referrred to on the song Sorry as “Becky with the good hair”.
The album ends with a song about reconciliation, All Night, while the couple later alluded to the strength of their relationship on their first collaborative album Everything Is Love, released last year during their On The Run II tour.