December 13, 2023
Beyoncé Accused Of Copying Artist For Costume Worn During ‘Renaissance’ Tour And Film
An artist is accusing Beyoncé of referencing his work in visuals she used for both the Renaissance World Tour and film.
A Japanese artist has accused Beyoncé of copying his artistic creation for a visual she included in her Renaissance tour and film. Hajime Sorayama posted his claims to Instagram in several photos, TMZ reports.
“Yo @beyonce. You should have asked me ‘officially’ so that I could make much better work for you as like my man @theweekend,” Sorayama captioned his Instagram post, which featured a carousel of images of his illustrations and the alleged reference pieces from Beyoncé’s record-breaking world tour. Sorayama partnered with The Weeknd to create a cover for the 10th anniversary of his 2011 mixtape Echoes of Silence. The rereleased music featured an image of a silver robot-like figure in profile with an arched neck.
Along with the side-by-side visuals, the artist posted a photo of merchandise featuring the referential visuals, seemingly hinting at the singer having made a profit from his idea.
Several commenters believed the pair had worked together prior to his posting, while others expressed dissenting opinions about Sorayama’s claims.
“You and whoever made her headpiece clearly drew from the same metropolis inspo. Doesn’t make anyone a thief, certainly not Beyonce,” one commenter said. “She’s wearing Thierry Mugler based on an archive Mugler look that referenced metropolis.”
“Were you this incensed when she wore a similar headpiece in 2007 at the BET awards?” said another.
Still, it isn’t the first time Beyoncé has been accused of drawing inspiration from another creative and failing to credit them. In 2011, Belgian choreographer Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker claimed the singer lifted her dance moves in the video for her track “Countdown.”
“I’m not mad, but this is plagiarism,” De Keersmaeker told The New York Times. The 42-year-old pop star responded to De Keersmaeker’s claims in the affirmative, saying, “Clearly, the ballet ‘Rosas danst Rosas’ was one of many references for my video ‘Countdown.’ It was one of the inspirations used to bring the feel and look of the song to life.”
Beyoncé was once again in the hot seat in 2016, when choreographer Marlyn Ortiz accused her of pulling inspiration from her dance troupe De La Guarda during the Formation World Tour. “I’m sorry I don’t bash artist! But I respect fellow creative artist…and don’t like to use social media to promote something that can be perceived as negativity,” Ortiz wrote in an Instagram post. “BUT @beyonce you have the nerve to steal exact concepts n choreography from other real creative genius.”
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