Erykah Badu has a way of cryptically addressing the scuttlebutt on the internet that has some calling her a “professional gaslighter,” a “hustler,” and just as messy as most social media users.
Case in point: She has finally opened up about the widely speculated beef she has with Beyoncé. The two singers’ fan bases are convinced that Badu has taken the liberty to slight her contemporary on more than one occasion.
However, the “Baduizm” artist says it is the public that has crafted a narrative pitting her against the “Aliens Superstar.” Discourse about something brewing between the ladies began in 2023 when the Dallas native appeared to snidely remark she was “everybody’s stylist” while comparing side-by-side photos of their similar stage costumes, which consisted of both women wearing chrome-colored wide-brimmed hats.
At the time, Beyoncé was on her Renaissance World Tour, which featured opulence and all things silver. When the “Break My Soul” songstress released images of the vinyl covers of the “Cowboy Carter” album in March, Badu added fuel to the rampant speculation about her one-sided feud.
Judging by many people’s perspectives, she alluded to being copied yet again after noticing that the fellow Texan had her hair styled in long Fulani braids — one of many braided looks that the neo-soul singer is synonymous with.
🎥 | Beyoncé shouts out Erykah Badu’s name four times rather than the usual one during her ‘Break My Soul (Queen’s Mix) performance tonight.
— KenBarbie™ (@itsKenBarbie) August 2, 2023
This comes after Badu accused the Queen Bey of copying her looks. Is Bey trolling or showing it’s all love? 👀 pic.twitter.com/U9aazQjIC5
“I said ‘Hmmm’ in a post and people assumed that means a certain thing because they think that,” Badu recently explained to The Standard, a U.K. newspaper. “I didn’t say that. I didn’t say I thought that. Only thing I said was, ‘Jay-Z, get these people off me.’ I didn’t explain my post or anything, I didn’t have an opportunity to. I was guilty before it started.”
The BeyHive backlash was swift as the former Destiny’s Child band member’s loyal following swarmed Badu’s comment sections on Instagram and Twitter. The “Call Tyrone” talent attempted to use a lifeline when she tweeted, “To Jay Z. Say something Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me??”
As for whether or not she actually believed her swagger had been jacked by the unstoppable musical force, Badu said, “I don’t care. It doesn’t matter, I’m so proud of her. I’m a Texas woman, she’s a Texas woman. It’s beautiful. [Beyoncé] works super hard. [The] Knowles family is friends of mine, I love them very much. Most of the things we see are just kind of made up.”
To Jay Z . Say somethin Jay . You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me ?? 😆 pic.twitter.com/oxNhNgvfWp
— ErykahBadoula (@fatbellybella) March 20, 2024
“The press runs with it and now it becomes the narrative,” she continued. “I never correct it, I don’t have to, it’s none of my business. It does help me sell things, though. It goes straight to my store and starts selling product when I’m trending. That’s what I use social media for, to sell my things.”
Along with albums — of which she has not dropped a new one since 2010 — she sells incense that is marketed as smelling like her nether regions, cannabis, and an array of tour-related merchandise. But her explanation of piggybacking on Beyoncé’s popularity did not sit well with some.
“How is she gonna just lie ??! there’s no possible other way to interpret that. she was absolutely implying Beyoncé copied her,” declared one BeyHive member. Someone else wrote, “It just goes to show you that the most so called “enlightened” people be a mess just like everyone else.”
A third person was far more critical, tweeting, “So she just leaves the misunderstanding to sell her things. That’s not a friend, but I guess Beyonce never defends herself either. Lol.”
The 32-time Grammy Award-winner has never outright addressed the perceived tensions, but her longtime publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure has. Amid the hair controversy, she shared a post proving that the multi-hyphenate has been rocking all sorts of braided looks dating back to the ’90s when her girl group still had its original four members. To most fans, that was a good enough mic drop.
