Beyoncé has appeared to respond to Erykah Badu‘s recent shade, as well as Lizzo‘s current legal troubles.
The legendary singer performed at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Tuesday night (August 1) as part of her Renaissance World Tour.
During a performance of “Break My Soul (The Queens Remix),” Beyoncé skipped her usual shoutout to Lizzo and replaced her name with extra mentions of Erykah Badu, saying her surname four times.
“Badu, Lizzo, Kelly Rowl’” are the original lyrics, but she replaced them with: “Badu, Badu, Badu, Badu.”
Earlier this week, Erykah Badu called out Beyoncé for biting her style, accusing her of copying her signature headwear with a hat she wore on stage.
Badu took to her Instagram Stories to post comparison photos between herself and Bey’s looks, while writing: “Hmm. I guess I’m everyone’s stylist. My favorite chrome mirror hat.”
The intention behind Beyoncé’s multiple namedrops is unclear, and it’s possible it was meant as an acknowledgement of the R&B legend’s influence, as opposed to a shady response.
As for Lizzo, the “About Damn Time” hitmaker was sued on Tuesday (August 1) over accusations she fostered a hostile work environment.
Three of her former dancers filed a suit against her, Big Grrrl Big Touring and her dance captain, Shirlene Quigley, over claims of fat-shaming, sexual harassment and more, according to NBC News.
The plaintiffs claimed Lizzo once brought attention to a dancer’s weight gain, before berating then firing them after they recorded a meeting “because of a health condition.”
Dancer Arianna Davis claimed the singer and her choreographer told her she seemed “less committed” to her role after a SXSW performance, which she alleged was a “thinly veiled” concern about her weight.
The dancers also accused Lizzo of pressuring them to touch a nude performer at a club in Amsterdam.
In addition, the plaintiffs are also accusing her dance captain of “proselytizing to other performers and deriding those who had premarital sex while sharing lewd sexual fantasies, simulating oral sex and publicly discussing the virginity” of one of the three people suing.
Lizzo herself has yet to issue a public response to the lawsuit.
Lizzo has made it clear that she never abandoned her album Love in Real Life.
The “Juice” artist recently responded to rumors that the project had been cancelled after fans expected it to arrive last year. Rather than putting out the album at the time, Lizzo instead released the mixtape My Face Hurts From Smiling in June.
During a new conversation with Billboard, the “Truth Hurts” singer explained that the album itself was never scrapped and is still the same body of work she plans to release on June 5 under its new title, B**ch.
“I think the biggest misconception about my album is that I shelved Love in Real Life when I didn't,” she said. “(B**ch) is technically the same album. I just changed the name. The music is the same.”
Lizzo shared that the main difference between the earlier version of the project and the upcoming release was taking away the original title track, which eventually led to the album being renamed.
“When you change the name of something, it changes its destiny,” the singer explained. “Like, when I went from Melissa to Lizzo, it changed my destiny.”
“When this album went from Love in Real Life to Bch, it changed the trajectory of its past,” she continued. “I do think that I feel like I can express myself the way that I want to express myself right now through Bch. I think Love in Real Life was really sombre and a little bit more introspective, and I think B**ch is a little bit more empowered and self actualised and bold.”
Before the newly titled album arrives, Lizzo has already released the singles B**ch and Don’t Make Me Love U.
The artist had previously spoken about stepping away from Love in Real Life during an earlier interview with Vulture, saying the project “just wasn't what I was feeling right now”.
She also mentioned that much of the album had originally been written back in 2022.
“By 2025, I've changed, the world has changed so much, and so much has happened,” she said. “I was like, ‘I need to do s**t differently, and I don't know what it is, but I'm going to just start following my instincts.’”
