As we discussed earlier, Beyonce and Jay-Z attended this weekend’s NAACP Image Awards. Beyonce was named the Entertainer of the Year, she gave a speech and she wore this righteous Balmain swimsuit ensemble. I’m sort of impressed that Bey and Jay even turned up to the Image Awards and to the GLAAD Awards last week, but it’s possible they had a lull in their schedules and just decided, hey, if they’re going to receive some awards, they might as well show up and have fun. The problem is that if you’re Beyonce and you make a point of briefly walking amongst the peasantry, the peasantry will often overstep the bounds of propriety and personal space. So it was at the Image Awards, when actor Omari Hardwick thought the Beygency wouldn’t notice him trying to kiss Beyonce on the mouth:
Actor Omari Hardwick is currently receiving backlash from Beyoncé fans after it seemed like he tried to kiss her on the lips during the #NAACPImageAwards. pic.twitter.com/nt6KMpWFdU
— Pop Alarms 🚨 (@PopAlarms) March 31, 2019
You know what sucks though? Even a woman as famous, respected and beloved as Beyonce still gets this sh-t. Even Beyonce has to handle men acting gross towards her and not respecting her personal space. If wealth, power and respect doesn’t protect Beyonce, what hope is there for the rest of us? And yes, it was uncomfortable. I would not expect Beyonce to say anything either way though, because that’s what women are taught – we’re taught to normalize, to shrug it off, to act like it was just a misunderstanding. You do not try to kiss the Beyonce on the mouth without her permission, g-ddamn it.
Photos courtesy of Getty and Instagram.
A lot of people are defending his behavior – of course. And my question to them is this: why was he kissing her in the first place?? If it was Jay standing there would he have turned around and kissed and hugged HIM?? Of course not. Dude was being opportunistic and decided he wanted to hug and kiss Beyonce. And he did it on camera because he felt no one would say or do anything about it. I’m sick of men hugging and kissing women at these events. It’s gross. Kiss the woman you came with a**hole
I’m pretty sure that’s Jay standing to her right. That’s just, I mean, wow.
He is! Which makes it even more ridiculous.
if they were old friends, ONE QUICK kiss on the cheek is an appropriate greeting.
but the hug, and the second kiss that was thisclose to her mouth? totally inappropriate.
I saw that clip before I read the all the commentary and thought it was really noticeably odd and inappropriate the way he just dove in to kiss her mouth. I feel like he would have tried to use tongue if he had more time. Guy is skeevy and gross.
That was inappropiate.
Very much.
Reminds me of Adrien Brody kissing Halle Berry.
That still pisses me off.
yeah I remember that as her husband was in the audience.
That second kiss seemed…indulgent and opportunistic on his part. I mean, sure kissing people on the cheek is a common greeting and I’ve had people I’m close with double it up affectionately but there’s no way that they’re actually close friends, she said like half a word to him in the clip.
Instagram comments from the Beyhive are adding some levity to the situation as usual. Sometimes unhinged, but they got the spirit.
When I first heard this story, I wasn’t sure what the big deal was because I tend to think the Beyhive go crazy over even the smallest sh@t. Then I saw the video and I was like “yikes! That is not okay.”
When will men learn that because some women are okay with you doing this does not mean ALL women are comfortable with this?. I agree, if a woman with as much power and wealth as Beyoncé still has to deal with men thinking it’s okay to invade her personal space then think about how what women who don’t have the kind of power or stature have to deal with on a daily basis.
I work with a guy who says things that are not appropriate. He has been written up several times and has thick file with HR. He really feels like he can say and speak his mind without any recourse.
If the guy you work with has a thick file of HR complaints and is still employed then he’s right- he can speak his mind without any recourse.
@VV Yep it’s peak male privilege.
Silly peasant. How dare he. She probably doesn’t even know who he is and he wants to put lips on The Great Bey? Peasant
Yes. How dare he. Whether it be Beyoncé or any other woman. Keep your damn hands and lips to yourself.
Michael, would you like it if some stranger came up to you and put his mouth and hands on you without your consent?
even if your answer is yes, not everybody feels that way. superstar or not, rich or not, EVERYBODY has the right to their personal space and EVERYBODY has the right not to be touched/hugged/kissed/groped without consent.
This isn’t about fans having a problem with him being a ‘peasant’ (they’re both celebrities btw) ‘beneath her’. He could have been literal royalty from another country or the garbage president in this one, and it still would have gotten the same reaction. If anything, the reaction would have been more intense because of the imbalance of power. I know many don’t like her and some of the support she gets and wish she would go away AND need everybody to know it every time she comes up. But can’t that be put that aside for a little bit, and saved for some other type of Beyoncé story- like the next one where she actually says something problematic, for example?
Buddy, if you think that’s a rude reaction, you should’ve seen what my peasant sister did to the last guy who tried to kiss her like that without permission.
This encounter was so awkward to watch. Who does he think he is? Imagine his behavior towards women without Beyoncé’s success & stature?
And remember the guy manhandling Ariana Grande a few months ago? And the guy who touched Taylor Swift inappropriately? These are famous, powerful women, and these encounters happened in front of plenty of people, and in several instances, on camera.
Don’t touch people without their consent. It’s so simple, and yet…
and that wasn’t just a “guy” who groped Grande, it was a PREACHER. disgusting.
re: Taylor Swift…she’s not my favorite and in some ways she IS problematic, but I LOVE that she went after that guy and nailed him, too. he was such a pr*ck about that whole thing.
Exactly. That’s also an example of why wealth shouldn’t be automatically used to shut down conversations about other social issues.
I remember…years ago…when the iconic movie “The Five Heartbeats” came out…and I went to a special screening that had the Director, Robert Townsend there (because it was in our hometown of Chicago)…along with ALL of the actors that starred in the movie…including Michael Wright (Lawd…be still my beating heart)…Harry J. Lennix (lawd)….and Leon (Lawd HAVE MERCY)…this was right after Leon starred in the “Like A Prayer” video with Madonna which caused SUCH an uproar…so all of the actors were in a line…and we were going down shaking hands and saying pleasantries…and I’m trying not to faint from just having touched Michael Wright…who has that intensity and complexity that is like CATNIP to me…and I get to Leon…who is…was GLORIOUS…and he grabbed me…and gave me a full mouth…deep throat…kiss….
I was SO FRIGGIN’ STUNNED…because…well…I HAD NEVA with a strange man I had JUST met seconds ago!!!! My BFF, Kwame…who was with me and walking behind me as I moved down the line….was LIVID…cause he was like…”That $*$&$^$ just grabbed you and kissed you like that…how did he know you WASN’T MY LADY?!?! I should beat his a—”
It took me a minute to realize that…you know what…THAT WAS INAPPROPRIATE!!!!!!!!!! And no pleasure was garnered by me…because I was so stunned and embarrassed…
I felt like that again…watching that video of Bey….
It’s just…embarrassing….
Beyoncé didn’t say anything at the time, but the second photo from the white outfit above is her kissing Jay. I’m not positive of the timing, but I like to think THAT’s her response.
The outfit she is wearing looks so weird to me I thought her mom designed it.
I think she might be pregnant again (that’s how she looks to me anyway). If so, it might be designed to hide and/or distract.
Years ago (late 80s) I was out at a club dancing with a guy. I had quite a bit to drink & he kissed me full on tongue on the dance floor. I was so mad I bit his tongue hard! I was quite proud of myself but I got a lot of crap from my friend & her guy friends. Don’t cross my boundaries!
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Beyonce looked so uncomfortable and weirded out in the couple seconds at the end of the clip I saw. That told me all I needed to know. She was not ok with that. Dude needs to apologize and learn an important lesson about keeping your hands to yourself.