Beyoncé might be putting up a partition between herself and internet scandals. During the Boston stop of the Renaissance World Tour on Aug. 1, she performed the Queens remix of her song “Break My Soul,” whose third verse shouts out a long list of successful Black singers including Erykah Badu, Lauryn Hill, and Lizzo. But following the news that Lizzo is being sued for sexual harassment, Beyoncé replaced her name in the song by repeating “Badu” four times instead. Her Campus reached out to Beyoncé’s and Lizzo’s team for comment on the lawsuit and lyric change, but did not hear back by the time of publication.
ICYMI: Lizzo’s in some hot water. According to the lawsuit filed by three of Lizzo’s former background dancers, the singer allegedly created a hostile work environment and allegedly pressured one of the dancers to touch a nude performer at a club in Amsterdam. She is accused of weight-shaming one of her dancers and firing her after she recorded a meeting due to a health condition. The lawsuit also details the “excruciating” 12-hour re-audition the dancers endured after Lizzo accused them of drinking on the job.
Lizzo’s former dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, is also being sued for religious harassment and allegedly making inappropriate comments about the dancers’ sex lives. Quigley posted an Instagram video about God’s love after the news broke, but didn’t directly address the lawsuit. Her Campus also reached out to Quigley for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Repeating “Badu” four times is an obvious lyric change, especially since Beyoncé sings the Queens remix of the song every night of the tour. Billboard notes that she doesn’t shout out every singer’s name during the show. However, the video above shows her performing the whole verse, only skipping Lizzo’s name. It’s also notable that she chose to repeat Badu’s name, since Badu recently took to Instagram to insinuate that Beyoncé copied her signature oversized hat look.
Beyoncé usually chooses to take the high road when it comes to celebrity drama, so avoiding Lizzo’s name was possibly meant to keep her out of online gossip. But when you’re one of the world’s biggest superstars, you’re likely to see your name on the Trending page no matter what. The Beyhive immediately took to Twitter to react to their mother potentially throwing shade on stage — and people are split between whether or not Beyoncé was addressing Lizzo at all.
Whether or not the lyric change was intentional, one thing is clear: Beyoncé is committed to staying out of this news.