Beyoncé Honors Late Dancer O’Shae Sibley, Who Was Fatally Stabbed In Hate Crime

Beyoncé issued a tribute to late dancer and fan O’Shea Sibley, who was fatally stabbed near Brooklyn’s Coney Island over the weekend. Sibley, 28, was reportedly voguing to the singer’s music at a local Mobil gas station when a group of men approached him and shouted homophobic slurs.

A recording from the incident shows Sibley and two of his friends dancing to songs from Beyoncé’s latest album, Renaissance, before another group of people confronted them. A physical altercation ensued, with Sibley being stabbed and taken to Maimonides Medical Center where he died. The suspect, who police say is 17 years old, ran from the scene, along with his friends. Sibley’s friends and a group of bystanders rushed to his aid. The NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force is now looking into the incident as a potential hate crime.

Sibley was a student in the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation's Ailey Extension, which issued a statement on Monday (July 31). “O’Shae was a cherished and devoted Ailey Extension student. He had incredible energy in the studio and was loved by instructors and fellow classmates,” the message reads.

On Bey’s official website reads the statement “Rest In Power O’Shea Sibley.” The singer has been a longtime advocate of the LGBTQIA community, dedicating Renaissance to her late “godmother” Uncle Jonny, who died of HIV complications. In a statement for Renaissance, the 32-time Grammy-winner called him “the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album.” On the album track “Heated,” Bey calls her Uncle Jonny by name.

Also contributing to Renaissance were queer artists, including Ts Madison, Honey Dijon, Syd, Moi Renee, MikeQ, Kevin Aviance and Big Freedia. In March 2019, Beyoncé and JAY-Z received honors as LGBTQ Allies at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awards.

Beyoncé and JAY-Z tell LGBTQ people everywhere they love them at the 30th Annual GLAAD Media Awardswww.youtube.com