Beyoncé‘s publicist and team are going hard to defend the singer after she faced more accusations of stealing from the Erykah Badu.
Badu has accused Beyoncé of stealing her looks over the past few months, starting with an oversized top hat Yoncé wore on stage similar to the one the 53-year-old frequently wears.
The neo-soul singer also made fun of her silver look during Bey’s Renaissance Tour last year. “Hmm,” she added in the caption, “I guess I’m everybody stylist.” Now, she has accused the fellow Texan of copying her style for her highly-anticipated, “Cowboy Carter” album.
Beyoncé released a picture from her new album cover featuring her wearing Fulani braids with beads, and Badu seemingly threw shade by sharing the picture in her Instagram Stories with the caption “Hmmm.”
After the “Tyrone” singer was dragged by the Beehive for being shady, she called on Bey’s husband of almost 17 years to speak up.
“To Jay Z . Say somethin Jay,” wrote Badu. “You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me ?? [laughing emoji].” The post also included a video of a man crying from an recent episode of the “Karamo” show, as he says, “I might hate you for the rest of my life for real. Because you knew. You knew.”
Badu’s request that Jay-Z step in was seemingly the last straw for her publicist, Noel-Schure, who posted a montage of Beyoncé on Instagram rocking Fulani braids throughout her lengthy career. The post was captioned, “She slays. She slays. Now. Then. Always. act ii COWBOY CARTER 3.29 #criticswithoutcredentials.”
Making the drama even more “Thique,” Justina Omokhua, the senior vice president of Beyoncé’s entertainment company Parkwood Entertainment shared a post of of the singer’s album along with lyrics from Badu’s song “Tyrone.” “
“But ‘cha don’t know how to act, so matter fact.”
Badu has been known to wear Fulani braids herself. But despite the drama between the two legendary artists, neither woman is responsible for inventing Fulani braids or the trend of women who wear them.
The look originated by women in the West African and the Sahel regions of Africa by the Fulani people centuries ago, and the hair is often decorated with beads, shells, wooden or metal accents and sometimes silver coins and amber from a family for heritage purposes.
Other celebrities have rocked Fulani braids bedsides Badu and Bey, including actress Gabrielle Union. Kim Kardashian has also appropriated the look and was dragged after she incorrectly attributed the look to actress Bo Derek from the 1979 film “10.”
Jay-Z has yet to respond to Badu’s request, and she has not yet responded to the latest declaration by Bey’s publicist. But Bey’s album, “Cowboy Carter,” drops March 29.
