Beyoncé pays tribute to gay dancer killed after vogueing to her music at a gas station
O’Shae Sibley, a dancer and choreographer, was killed on Saturday night.
Beyoncé yesterday paid tribute to a gay man killed over the weekend in a suspected hate crime. On Beyonce’s official website, a simple message read ‘Rest in power, O’Shae Sibley.’
Sibley, 28, was a professional dancer and choreographer based in Brooklyn. According to CNN, on Saturday night, at around 11pm, “Sibley was dancing – vogueing – to a Beyoncé song with friends at the gas station when a group of men approached them and started to shout gay slurs at them.”
The men were dancing to a track from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album. The record was inspired by classic house music and ballroom culture.
A close friend of Sibley’s, Otis Pena, posted an emotional Facebook live video after his friend’s death to explain what happened. He said they’d stopped for gas in the Midwood section of the borough, just a couple of blocks from Pena’s house. They’d been out that day to the beach to celebrate Pena’s birthday.
“They murdered him because he was gay. Because he stood up for his friends,” Pena said.
After the group was subjected to slurs, an argument ensued. A man stabbed Sibley in the torso. Pena said he applied pressure to the wound before Sibley was taken to Maimonides Medical Center. He was pronounced dead there.
Summy Ullah, an employee at the gas station, told the Gothamist that the men approached the dancers and told them their flamboyant display was an offense to their faith.
“These people were like ‘we’re Muslim, I don’t want you dancing,” said Ullah.
The altercation was caught on the gas station’s CCTV cameras.
New York Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal was among those heartbroken by the news of Sibley’s death.
“Heartbroken and enraged to learn about O’Shae Sibley’s death this weekend in New York. Despite homophobes’ best efforts, gay joy is not crime. Hate-fueled attacks are.”
A police spokesperson told the Guardian that Sibley’s death “is being investigated as a possible biased incident”. No arrests have been made at the time of writing.
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