Did Beyoncé Shade Donald Glover During Her "RENAISSANCE" Opening Show? Twitter Thinks So

The first night of Queen B's world tour was eventful, to say the least.

BYHayley Hynes
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The World Premiere Of Disney's "THE LION KING"

Since turning his talents from making music back to television, Donald Glover has found plenty of success with shows like Atlanta and Swarm. The latter is the multi-talent's most recent project, and it arrived on Amazon Prime Video a few months back. Starring Dominique Fishback and Chlöe Bailey, the short series tells the story of a young woman whose obsession with her favourite pop star takes her to some deadly places. After the show premiered, many couldn't help but draw comparisons between the idolized vocalist on-screen, Nijah, and real-life superstar, Beyoncé.

The mother of three hasn't publicly commented on Swarm – until last night's debut RENAISSANCE World Tour performance, that is. At one point during her captivating set, Queen B adorned a bee costume. It in itself appears to be a nod to the fanbase in Glover's show, seemingly referencing her actual audience, known as the BeyHive. When she sang into the microphone, "Swarm on these hands, n*gga," however, Beyoncé made it pretty clear that she doesn't have a positive opinion of the six-episode series.

Read More: Childish Gambino Drops "Swarm" EP With KIRBY To Accompany New Amazon Prime Video Series

Beyoncé Appears to Respond to Donald Glover's Swarm

Regardless of what the B-Day songstress has to say about Swarm, critics on Rotten Tomatoes awarded it an impressive 86%. As for at-home audiences, they seem to fall closer to Beyoncé's side of the fence, ranking it at just 72%. While it's certainly been criticized (namely for Glover's admitted failure to prepare his lead actress for her role), it also captivated viewers thanks to salacious moments such as Damson Idris' sex scene with Bailey, as well as a noteworthy nude shot of Rory Culkin.

As for the 41-year-old's opening night, things seemed to go off without a hitch. Her seemingly shading Childish Gambino was arguably one of the evening's wildest moments, though she also borrowed some of Lil Uzi Vert's dance moves, and called out those who have been begging her to drop visuals to accompany her latest LP, which arrived last summer. While she prepares to take the stage in Europe once again, Twitter has been lighting up with reactions to the rumoured beef between Bey and her co-star from The Lion King.

Read More: Blue Ivy & Jay-Z Support Beyoncé's "RENAISSANCE" World Tour Debut In Sweden

Twitter Reacts

"To everyone that said, 'Beyoncé loved 'Swarm,'" one Twitter user wrote while retweeting a clip of Beyoncé at last night's concert. Elsewhere, another asked if the "Telephone" hitmaker might have been upset over her mentee, Chlöe's appearance in the hit series. Keep scrolling to read more social media reactions, and tap back in with HNHH later for more updates from the RENAISSANCE World Tour.

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About The Author
Hayley Hynes is the former Weekend Managing Editor of HotNewHipHop, she stepped down after two years in 2024 to pursue other creative opportunities but remains on staff part-time to cover music, gossip, and pop culture news. Currently, she contributes similar content on Blavity and 21Ninety, as well as on her personal blog where she also offers tarot/astrology services. Hayley resides on the western side of Canada, previously spending a year in Vancouver to study Fashion Marketing at Blanche Macdonald Centre and Journalism at Mount Royal University in Calgary before that. She's passionate about helping others heal through storytelling, and shares much more about her life on Instagram @hayleyhynes.