Did Taylor Swift Copy Beyoncé at the Billboard Music Awards? Fans Weigh In
Taylor Swift and Panic! At the Disco’s Brendon Urie opened the Billboard Music Awards (BBMA) last night performing Swift’s new song, “Me!” and Beyoncé fans got serious déjà vu. Twitter users called out Swift for ripping off an earlier performance of Beyoncé’s. See what fans of both artists had to say following the BBMA’s ahead.
Beyoncé fans called out Swift
Members of Beyoncé’s fan base, the Beyhive, called out Swift for copying one of Beyoncé’s earlier performances. Specifically, her epic Coachella performance last year, dubbed “Beychella.”
Swift and Urie performed “Me!” with a drumline and as Beyhive members pointed out, so did Beyoncé at her Coachella performance, which is the subject of her newly released Netflix documentary, Homecoming.
Not the first time Swift has been accused of stealing Beyoncé’s material
This isn’t the first time the Beyhive has called out Swift for ripping off Queen B. In 2017, her fan base pointed out similarities between her “Formation” music video and Swift’s “Look What You Made Me Do” video, according to Yahoo.
Fans weigh in
Viewers, Swift fans aka Swifties, and members of the Beyhive took to Twitter to share their feelings about the performance.
“Taylor swift really tried to do a dollar store vr of Beyonce’s set. And you say appropriation doesn’t exist. #BBMAs #TaylorSwift #beychella #beyonce #beyhive,” one Twitter user said.
Another person who watched the performance tweeted, “And, no one is saying #Beyonce invented the drum line but Taylor Swift was definitely watching #BeyonceHomecoming on @Netflix and took notes. #BBMAs #taylorswift
Another highlighted Beyoncé’s intense pre-show diet. “Beyoncé did not give up bread, carbs, sugar, dairy, meat, fish, and alcohol for Taylor Swift to disrespect her like that #BBMAs #BillboardMusicAwards #Beyonce
Opinions about Swift’s performance varied. One Twitter user said, “Let’s be real… Even if #TaylorSwift TRIED to give us #Beyonce at the #BBMAs, it didn’t even come within 1,000 miles of the “epicness” of Queen Bey’s! Find something else to fight about ya’ll…”
Another made the comment, “Oh Gawwwd!You “Bey-hivers” are ridiculous!#Beyonce is NOT the only performer to use a marching band and drummers… nor will she be the last. Get a grip. #TaylorSwift’s performance at the #BBMAs was spectacular!End of discussion.”
Fans referenced Gwen Stefani and Fleetwood Mac
Fans brought Gwen Stefani and other artists into the conversation on Twitter. One person joked about Stefani, who used a marching band in her “Hollaback Girl.” music video.
“Gwen Stefani is really happy to be excluded from this narrative. #TaylorSwift #Beyoncé #BBMAs,” the person tweeted, referencing Swift’s comment about the scandal involving herself, Kanye West, and Kim Kardashian.
Then another user referenced Madonna. “Okay, but Madonna did the marching band thing back in 2012, so everyone sit down.”
Going back 40 years, a Twitter user replied to the Madonna comment with, “And didn’t Fleetwood Mac do it ahead of them all in 1979?”
Compare Swift and Beyonce’s performances
For those who haven’t seen Swift’s BBMA’s performance and Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella performance, we’ve included the videos below for comparison’s sake.
This is a 15-minute clip of Beyoncé’s set at Coachella in 2018 including the introduction.
Watch Taylor Swift’s entire BBMAs performance and decide whether or not she copied Beyoncé’s 2018 Coachella act.