Yes Beyoncé, we know. You shut down the Super Bowl. You were invited to sing at the Inauguration. You “had one of the best music videos of all time.” However, since you have fame, fortune, a loving husband, and the world’s most loyal fan base, I think it’s time you go back to being gracious. The arrogance just doesn’t look good on you.
When it comes to Beyoncé, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who isn’t totally in love. Whether it’s her musical talent that has sustained throughout the decades, her womanly figure, or her “Single Ladies” music video, nearly every person has some type of infatuation with this worldwide star. No one can deny that she is the face of our generation––she is our Michael Jackson, our Madonna. But even I, an admitted fan, have come to realize that maybe “The Queen” isn’t all she’s cracked up to be.
Kicking off her new and not-so-improved attitude in January of 2012, Beyoncé and Jay-Z held super tight security at the Lenox Hill Hospital during the birth of their daughter, Blue Ivy. Their ultra strict security led a father of two premature twins to be continuously kicked out of the neonatal intensive care unit. Brooklyn native, Neil Coulon, told New York Daily News that, “the stress of his wife delivering two premature girls was tripled by Beyoncé’s bodyguards treating Lenox Hill Hospital like an exclusive nightclub.” Other patients complained of the strict security and limited access they had to seeing family.
Okay, Bey, although you and your hubby never gave an apology to the new father, I can let it slide. I’m sure you were just looking out for your child’s safety. If this was the only incident, I could and would, as a fan, bounce back in support of you.
Yet since January 2012, Beyoncé has continuously shown that her Queen B persona has pushed itself from a backseat passenger into the full-fledge driver manning a bulldozer, rather than some two-door sedan.
The first major diva alert I can remember since the birth of Blue has to be President Obama’s Inaugural address in January 2013. Despite Anderson Cooper’s overly dramatic “It’s Beyoncé’s world, and we’re all just living in it” statement, I think it’s kind of crazy that the voice of our generation could only manage to lip-sing in front of the entire nation. Oh yeah, no big deal, it’s only the president and only the whole world is tuning in to hear you belt out a couple notes.
From this point on, the list seemed to just keep growing. In February of 2013, just days before she shut down the entire Super Bowl with a killer performance, Beyoncé made an outrageous purchase – and by outrageous I mean completely stupid and kind of immoral. Specially made and horrifically ugly, the “Love On Top” star dropped a ridiculous amount of money on a pair of trainers that sent PETA and animal rights groups into frenzy. Ostrich. Stingray. Crocodile. Anaconda. Calf.
As an animal lover I was definitely bummed to hear about these shoes, but we all do things that have a negative effect on the world, right? I could still manage to overlook all of this. Even after her conceited attempt to banish all bad Internet photos of herself from the Super Bowl, I still was rooting for her. I even turned a blind eye to her screaming at a fan mid-concert this July.
But then I came across an US Weekly article while running on the treadmill. I actually stopped running to wrap my brain around what the diva did this time. During a recent music video shoot in Coney Island, Beyoncé fans were going crazy, screaming, yelling, doing all the things that us non-Beyoncés would do if we saw the real Beyoncé. Amidst this commotion, no one made sure to get everyone off the rides before shutting them down (because the world stops––no wait, “bows down” when Mrs. Carter comes to town, right?). Forty-seven year old Doris Hone, who is afraid of heights, was trapped 150 feet in the air on the Wonder Wheel ride for over a half-hour as Beyoncé got her makeup done. The star allegedly continued on her way after the video was over to ride rides, with no regard for the distressed, “petrified” woman.
So, we could recap Beyoncé’s latest year with all of her major successes… or we could question why and how she magically escapes any negative image of herself. If any other musicians today acted with such utter disregard for others, they’d be crucified. But because she’s Beyoncé Knowles all is excused? I’m all for empowered, strong female leaders, but there’s a little thing called being humble and it goes a long way.
Her new “Bow-Down” lyrics, “I’m so crowned, bow, bow down bitches … I’m bigger than life, my name in the lights…” can’t help but make me think: Beyoncé, instead of the rest of the world bowing down… why don’t you just sit down?
Sources: New York Daily Times, Hollywood Life, Us Weekly