Beyoncé has paid tribute to a professional dancer who was fatally stabbed while "vogueing" to one of her songs in New York City.
The deadly attack occurred on Saturday night (July 29) when a dancer named O’Shae Sibley was at a gas station in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Coney Island with friends, as reported by The Independent.
The group had stopped to fill up their tank when another group of men reportedly used vile slurs and told them to stop vogueing - a type of stylized dance created by Black and Latino LGBTQ communities - to Beyoncé's album, Renaissance.
Surveillance footage obtained by The New York Post shows the two sides briefly dispersing after the verbal altercation, and then confronting each other again - with this time a physical fight breaking out.
The dispute escalated and led to the 28-year-old victim being stabbed by one of the assailants. He then disappeared from the camera’s view behind the car, as his friends and bystanders ran to check on him while the alleged perpetrators ran away.
The dancer's friends rendered first aid before he was transported to Maimonides Medical Center in Brooklyn for stab wounds to his torso but was tragically pronounced dead upon arrival.
The New York City Police Department told PEOPLE that the incident is being investigated as "a possible biased incident" and revealed that no arrests have been made yet.
Following his tragic death, the 41-year-old 'Crazy in Love' songstress took to her official website yesterday (August 1) to write: "REST IN POWER O’SHEA SIBLEY."
Sibley was a member of the modern dance company Ailey Extension - which is part of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation - and had performed at the Lincoln Center.
The organization released a statement about the fatal stabbing, writing: "The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night.
"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.
"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," they added.
Sibley’s father Jake Kelly has started a GoFundMe page to raise funds for Sibley’s funeral costs - and it has raised $30,526, exceeding the initial $10,000 target.
His aunt, Tondra Sibley, told The New York Times that her nephew had moved to New York from Philadelphia to pursue a dance career. She stated that his death was a "senseless crime," and that Sibley has always been a "peacemaker," adding: "All he wanted to do was dance."
Sibley's friend Otis Pena - who was at the deadly scene - told viewers on his tearful Facebook Live that he was celebrating his birthday with his friends before the incident, and revealed that the group intended to drive to his home shortly before he was stabbed.
"They killed him right in front of me. I'm covered in his blood. I was holding his stab wounds," he said, as cited by Daily Mail. "I was trying to put pressure on the wound and there was blood squirting everywhere ... They killed him right in my arms."
Beyoncé has been a longtime advocate for the LGBTQ community. She dedicated her seventh solo album, Renaissance, to her Uncle Jonny, whom she affectionately called her "godmother and the first person to expose me to a lot of the music and culture that serve as inspiration for this album".
The album featured collaborations from queer artists including Big Freedia, Honey Dijon, Moi Renee, Ts Madison, Syd, MikeQ, and Kevin Aviance.
Earlier this year, the 'Break My Soul' musician won Best Dance/Electronic Album at the Grammys, and in her speech, she expressed her gratitude to her late uncle and the queer community "for your love, and for inventing the genre".
Anyone with information about Sibley's death is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477), or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). You can also submit a tip via their website or via DM @NYPDTips on platform X - formally known as Twitter. All calls are kept confidential.
Our thoughts are with Sibley's family and friends at this time.
