It’s the beginning of a big era for Beyoncé fans. May 10 marked the beginning of Queen Bey’s highly anticipated Renaissance Tour, and to say I’m obsessed would be a total understatement. My FYP and Twitter feed has been filled with videos and live coverage of her opening set in Stockholm, Sweden all day, and I’m not complaining. Her voice? Incredible. The looks? Giving. And the tea? Well, it’s hot.
Nearing the end of her setlist, Queen Bey emerged wearing a (sickening) Mugler bee-inspired getup to “America Has A Problem.” An obvious nod to her nickname as the Queen Bey, the icon called out to her fanbase, asking, “Where’s my beehive?” After the crowd cheered, she then said, “Swarm on these hands,” which has fans believing she was calling out none other than Donald Glover.
Now, if you’re confused, don’t worry — I’ll explain. On March 17, Donald Glover’s new show, Swarm (which, BTW, featured Billie Eilish), premiered on Prime Video. Created alongside playwright Janine Nabers, Swarm centers around a young woman whose obsession with a pop star takes a sinister, and bloody, turn. Upon its release, Beyoncé fans were quick to notice the similarities between the show’s fictional pop icon, Ni’Jah, and Bey herself, alongside parallels between the fictional fanbase and the IRL Beyhive.
So, with Beyoncé using the word “swarm” during her ad-lib, fans are positive it was in reference to Glover’s show. Her Campus reached out to Beyoncé’s team for comment, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
Still, fans aren’t willing to stop talking about the potential shade. From TikTok edits to Twitter posts, it seems like everyone is chiming in on the drama — not just Beyoncé fans.
For the most part, people are just gagged that she may have thrown shade, since Bey is famously unproblematic and known to avoid drama. Honestly? It was pretty funny, and extremely iconic, shade or no shade.
Patiently waiting for Donald Glover to comment.
Whether it really was shade, or Queen Bey was just making a joke, I know that I can’t wait for what else is about to happen on this iconic tour.