Beyoncé Pays Ode to Fan O'Shae Sibley Who Was Fatally Stabbed While "Voguing" to Her Song

Beyoncé remembered O'Shae Sibley, a fan who was slain allegedly for "voguing" to her songs as a dancer. The official website of the singer simply said, "Rest in power, O'Shae Sibley," in white letters. The Grammy winner paid tribute to Sibley three days after his murder. 

Sibley, a 28-year-old professional dancer, was stabbed to death at a petrol station in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday. The police are investigating the incident as a probable hate crime. The New York Times stated that Sibley and his pals filmed a voguing dancer to Renaissance by Beyoncé while filling up their car and uploaded the video on Facebook Live. It has been alleged that a group of individuals came up to the dancer and his pals and hurled obscenities at them. Rumor has it they told Sibley to stop voguing. 

The New York Times reports that Sibley advised the guys to back off, adding that there's "nothing wrong with being gay." After a short struggle, Sibley was stabbed in the torso. When paramedics got him to the hospital, they declared him dead. According to Page Six, Beyoncé changed the front page of her website when word of Sibley's murder and the following anger circulated over social media.

The Post reported on Monday that police are searching for a 17-year-old male seen arguing with Sibley before the latter was stabbed in the chest. On Sunday, authorities informed The Post that they were probing the event as a possible anti-gay hate crime. Otis Pena, a friend of Sibley's, made an online post in which he claimed that he and his gay companions were targeted due to their sexuality.

Pena posted on Facebook, including graphic images of the fatal stabbing, "They hated us cause we are gay! [They were] screaming we Muslim and we don’t like gays!!!!! As we are innocently pumping gas and ya’ll decided to stab on one of us!!!" In addition, Pena claimed that he and his companions were "innocently voguing just two blocks from being dropped off at my house pumping gas!!!!"

Openly homosexual New York state senator Brad Hoylman-Signal expressed "heartbreak and enragement" at the revelation. He wrote, "Despite homophobes’ best efforts, gay joy is not crime. Hate-fueled attacks are."

This "shocking murder" of Sibley, according to GLAAD, "follows a disturbing rise in violence and harassment against LGBTQ people across the U.S." In a statement, GLAAD, a non-profit LGBTQ2 advocacy organization, stressed the importance of everyone feeling comfortable in their own skin. GLAAD stated, "Politicians spewing lies and proposing policies filled with disinformation, and media repeating their false and dangerous rhetoric unchallenged, are creating an incredibly hostile environment that endangers all LGBTQ people and all queer people of color."

Sibley, a dancer and choreographer who had been a member of the Ailey Extension program, moved to New York City three years ago to pursue a career in the arts. On Monday, the studio issued a statement on Facebook, "The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night. We are shocked and heartbroken that O’Shae’s life has been taken by senseless violence and extend our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones."

References:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/31/nyregion/stabbing-gas-station-brooklyn.html

https://pagesix.com/2023/08/01/beyonce-pays-tribute-to-dancer-who-was-reportedly-fatally-stabbed-for-voguing-to-her-song/

https://nypost.com/2023/07/30/caught-on-video-nyc-fatal-stabbing-investigated-as-possible-hate-crime-sources/