Frustration over Beyoncé’s “mysterious act” highlights a striking sense of entitlement in modern day fandoms

For years, Beyoncé’s fanbase – known as the Beyhive – has built up a reputation as one of the most die-hard (sometimes annoying) fan bases today. Despite their often unhinged behaviour (who could forget the “Becky with the good hair” saga), they mostly seem to have the musician’s best interest in mind. Now, though, it seems the hive is turning on their Queen Bey – and the reason is pretty ridiculous.

Over the weekend, several tweets went viral from fans complaining about the lack of visuals and interviews from the artist following her long-awaited seventh studio album, Renaissance. “She needs to realise this mysterious act isn’t gagging anyone anymore,” one upset fan tweeted in response to Beyoncé removing her TikTok profile picture.

While another echoed that sentiment, writing: “Fans are disappointed and I really get it. How are you the biggest singer in the planet, releasing a whole new album after 6 years and doing NOTHING for 6 months. No interview explaining the making off, no performance, not even 1 music video or a simple announcement. Weird [sic].” in reply to that tweet, the same user claimed Beyoncé “ has no excuses for not doing something for us.”

Sure, maybe if Beyoncé had dropped a dud of an album, some criticism may be merited. But Renaissance has been a critical and commercial success since its release, sitting nearer the top of numerous end-of-year lists.  

So, it’s rather apparent that the criticism aimed towards the singer is born out of a sense of entitlement. Fans in the modern era often feel their beloved stars owe them even more than music, as is the case here. However, some fans did back the artist, with one writing in response, “It’s a lot of entitlement going on. I’m ready for the visuals like everyone else. But art takes time and precision so they need to chill fr [sic].” That tweet then prompted attacks from other so-called supporters who asked “If she wasn’t ready to do the PR why release the album? [sic]”

Of course, artists would be nothing without their fans, but to believe we’re entitled to their art just because we stream their music is quite frankly delusional. Frequently, fans forget about the huge number of hours and dedication it takes to produce an album, especially one from arguably the world’s biggest star. And what’s even worse is that if Beyoncé released something subpar and rushed, these outspoken fans would most likely be the first to ridicule her for not taking enough time and care.