Beyoncé is quite possibly one of the most famous people of all time. She’s Beyoncé . Don’t @ me.
So, if her fans think you’ve disrespected her in any way, they will come for you and it won’t be pretty.
Unfortunately for Omari Hardwick, he is the one they are coming for.
Omari Hardwick, for those of you that haven’t heard the name before, it an American actor — better known for his reoccurring role in the TV series “Power”.
In the past, he’s starred in some other familiar titles like, CSI , Saved , Dark Blue , Nobody’s Fool , and The Runner .
Although Beyoncé has been known lately for being mysterious, and not making many public appearances, she has slowly started to be a bit more social.
Over the last few months, she has been attending more events than she has in a long time.
Last week she and her husband, Jay-Z, attended the GLAAD Awards.
They were commended for their “LGBTQ allyship” and for helping to “[accelerate] LGBTQ acceptance”.
This past weekend, Beyoncé made an appearance at the NAACP Image Awards, with Jay-Z by her side, as per usual.
She won the award for Entertainer of the Year, beating the other nominees, Chadwick Boseman and Regina King.
Although her evening ended on a positive note, with her taking home another award to add to her collection, the night wasn’t exactly an overall success.
Videos surfaced of Beyoncé and Jay-Z taking their seats, and being greeted by other guests.
Among the crowd of people trying to meet Queen Bey, was the aforementioned, Omari Hardwick.
Omari can be seen in the video leaning in, kissing Beyoncé on the cheek, hugging her, and then going back for a second kiss that lands dangerously close to her mouth.
Needless to say, Omari hasn’t exactly reached the superstardom level that Beyoncé is on.
So, I think it’s safe to assume that he was excited to meet her and accidentally made things awkward af.
Beyoncé fans were immediately triggered and came to her defence — calling the encounter “uncomfortable” and “unnecessary”.
This fan spoke for women everywhere — announcing that when men unnecessarily touch, kiss, grope, or poke, “we don’t like it,” and “it’s time to no longer let these moments of discomfort slide.”
Some fans thought this was the perfect example to raise awareness to an issue that normally gets brushed off.
Adding that Omari crossed a boundary that was “disconcerting”.
This person believes there should be a general rule that unless there is mutual consent, greetings should be kept to a handshake.
“Kisses and hugs have to be consensual with BOTH parties,” they wrote.
Another fan made it clear that they weren’t speaking for Beyoncé because they don’t know how she actually feels about the encounter.
But that it reminded them of situations they have been in before that made them feel like they were suffering and uncomfortable.
Other fans pointed out that people should be less focused on how Jay-Z felt about the interaction, and more about how Beyoncé herself felt about it.
This person wrote that no one should be focused on whether or not Omari offended Jay-Z — but rather if he offended Beyoncé or made her feel uncomfortable.
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This person, in defence of Omari, pointed out that there may be a cultural aspect to consider.
They revealed that in Caribbean communities, people are encouraged to greet their elders with a hug or a kiss on the cheek — the same way Omari greeted Beyoncé.
This user can definitely agree that the situation was very awkward to watch, but that it’s nothing to be read into.
“But I think that’s it. An awkward interaction. I don’t get what this extra stuff is all about,” they wrote.
Neither Omari or Beyoncé have spoken on the matter yet.
One thing is clear, the encounter was definitely an awkward one to watch.
But is it possible that it’s being blown out of proportion?
Do you think Omari crossed the line? Or was his greeting completely harmless?
