Beyoncé honours dancer who was fatally stabbed in a homophobic attack

Beyoncé has posted a tribute to 28-year-old professional dancer O’Shae Sibley after he was fatally stabbed while vogueing to her songs. The attack took place late Saturday night (29 July), when Sibley and a group of friends stopped at a Mobil gas station in the Brooklyn neighbourhood of Coney Island to fill up their tank. As they waited, Sibley began to dance to Beyoncé’s Renaissance.

A group of men approached them and reportedly asked them to stop vogueing. According to surveillance footage obtained by the New York Post, it was around 11pm that a brawl broke out between the two groups. Sibley’s friends attemped to give him first aid, following the stabbing, and called emergency services. Sibley was taken to hospital, and was later pronounced dead.

“I’m so angry, really angry and that’s a life lost over a simple thing,” Sibley’s neighbour Beckenbaur Hamilton told CBS. “They could have argued and could’ve talked and just left. They didn’t have to bring the violence in.”

Beyoncé honors dancer who was fatally stabbed in a homophobic attack after voguing to a song of hers:

“REST IN POWER O’SHEA SIBLEY” pic.twitter.com/MZEdF8EAMq

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) August 1, 2023

In the tribute posted to her website, Beyoncé wrote: "REST IN POWER O’SHEA SIBLEY".

Sibley was a member of modern dance company Ailey Extension and had performed at Lincoln Center. The organisation released a statement saying: “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.”

Sibley’s father Jake Kelly has started a GoFundMe page in order to raise funds for the funeral costs. Whilst no arrests have been made, police are investigating the stabbing as a possible hate crime.