Celebrities and influencers alike headed to the UAE for the grand opening of luxury hotel Atlantis the Royal.
The weekend’s lineup included a private performance from Beyoncé, who returned to the stage for a full concert for the first time in four years.
Beyoncé was reportedly paid $24 million for the gig — and the whole thing has earned her mixed opinions from fans.
Considering Dubai’s incredibly strict laws against same-sex relationships (which can even be punishable by death), many fans were confused why Beyoncé accepted the invitation.
Beyoncé, a longtime ally of the LGBTQ community, even celebrated Black queer culture with her recent album Renaissance and dedicated it to her Uncle Jonny, who was gay.
And that’s exactly what some of her fans pointed out when discussing the performance:
No beef but I’m struggling to understand why Beyoncé, who has half a billion dollars, would accept 20 million dollars to make her debut performance of the Renaissance album, a record which lifts heavily from queer culture, in Dubai, a country where LGBT rights aren’t recognised.
@douglasgrnwd / Via Twitter: @douglasgrnwd
Imagine calling yourself a feminist and then performing for sheikhs on a Dubai hotel opening event, making your dancers dressed by muslim laws, singing no queer-inspired songs, also with russians invited to the show
@Beyonce is always on top, but this time it’s the top hypocrisy
@homolyoha / Via Twitter: @homolyoha
Beyoncé doing a paid for press tour in Dubai doesn’t sit well with me especially with the influences for Renaissance being queer ballroom culture and it’s illegal and a death sentence to be gay in Dubai like ????
@jokeofajake / Via Twitter: @jokeofajake
Beyonce being paid $25 mil to perform at an invite-only party in Dubai. Which shows you how much she really gives a shit about the queer culture she appropriated (yes, appropriated) for Renaissance. Which is a great fucking record. But…. Bey, what the fuck.
@hermjon / Via Twitter: @hermjon
Meanwhile, some fans defended Beyoncé’s decision to perform, explaining that she was hired for the concert by a private company, not the city of Dubai.
She did business with a hotel… not the government. Lady Gaga has performed a couple times in Dubai. An artist whose whole discography is inspired by queer culture. Is your fake outrage only reserved for black women? Genuinely asking #dubai #Beyonce https://t.co/Agx9O6iry1
@HoustonMees / Via Twitter: @HoustonMees
Have any of the sanctimonious White gays complaining about Beyoncé performing in Dubai ever thought about what an enriching experience it is, for Queer ppl there to see an outwardly pro-Queer cultural icon perform in their home country? How inspiring that is? How hopeful it is?
@kaomi_k / Via Twitter: @kaomi_k
As a queer person from a country that doesn’t recognize lgbt rights, I gotta say that this is a stupid tweet. Y’all want celebrities to boycott entire countries over homophobia? The government wouldn’t care and it’d just hurt queer people in Dubai who want to see Beyonce https://t.co/xgaBkQLlO7
@NightAmorphous / Nickelodeon / Via Twitter: @NightAmorphous
Beyoncé performing in Dubai does not effect me or any other queer person in the Western world so the fake outrage is so boring at this point. A cheque is a cheque.
@AK1PAT / Via Twitter: @AK1PAT
Although Beyoncé’s decision to perform has proven to be divisive, it honestly looked like an incredible production — and has me hoping she’ll be touring soon!
