'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,/9j/2wBDAAYEBQYFBAYGBQYHBwYIChAKCgkJChQODwwQFxQYGBcUFhYaHSUfGhsjHBYWICwgIyYnKSopGR8tMC0oMCUoKSj/2wBDAQcHBwoIChMKChMoGhYaKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCgoKCj/wgARCAAHAAoDASIAAhEBAxEB/8QAFgABAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQH/8QAFQEBAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQX/2gAMAwEAAhADEAAAAMtgKD//xAAgEAABBAEEAwAAAAAAAAAAAAABAgMEERIABRMhFDKB/9oACAEBAAE/ANzlwWXxGf8AJClJIW+Djx2oIxxFg+qvqhqbuUBMx8MwZnEHFYcrySur6yrq9f/EABgRAAIDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIRAAED/9oACAECAQE/AMhom5//xAAXEQADAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAgMh/9oACAEDAQE/AK2ZXw//2Q=='%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
"Oh she ended that snow globe with ease" — Internet reacts as Beyoncé replaces the Sphere in her ‘Cowboy Carter’ tour visuals to Allegiant Stadium
Beyoncé recently swapped the Sphere with the Allegiant Stadium in her "Cowboy Carter Tour" visuals during her May 4 show at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. This came after the singer received a cease-and-desist letter from Sphere Entertainment Group (SEG) for allegedly using the venue's likeness "without permission."
For context, the issue with the Sphere arose after an interlude at her concerts showed a large-scale version of her roaming through the streets of Las Vegas, stopping to pick up the Sphere and toying with it.
According to the New York Post, the SEG sent Beyoncé a cease-and-desist regarding the footage. The letter claimed the clip misled fans and “has resulted in significant speculation that the singer will end her tour with a Sphere residency.”
“It has recently come to SEG's attention that a Cowboy Carter tour interlude video contains the unauthorized use of SEG's intellectual property. Beyoncé — many orders of magnitude larger than the Sphere venue — leans over, picks up the venue, and looms over it,” the letter read.
Trending
Beyoncé is not scheduled to perform at the Sphere during her stops in Las Vegas on July 25 and 26, instead, she will perform at the Allegiant Stadium.
The clips of the edited interlude were received with mixed responses on social media, with one user tweeting:
"Oh she ended that snow globe with ease."
Several netizens agreed with this sentiment, claiming it was "free promotion" for the Sphere to be included in Beyoncé's tour visuals.
"It was literally free promo for their stadium, they really got mad for nothing," one person tweeted.
"It wasn’t that deep. Plus Beyoncé was doing it with good intentions. Also anything that she does is a free promotion. They should be glad. People just dumb sometimes," another person added.
"Beyoncé playing 4D chess, haters gonna hate," someone else commented.
"Oh flop-sphere don’t make that face! Yoncé ended your career," another user wrote.
Others saw the humor in the situation, calling the singer a "petty queen."
"We love a petty queen," one person posted.
"She is so f**king funny for this," another fan added.
"Dang the video editing crew was working overtime lol," someone else said.
"THIS IS ICONIC," another user commented.
Beyoncé was "unauthorized" to use the Sphere image
Beyoncé's ongoing "Cowboy Carter Tour" has been lauded by fans for its visual and production design. However, the tour courted controversy after the Sphere Entertainment Group took issue with the singer using their venue in her visuals.
The visual showed a large-scale version of the singer, dressed in a red outfit and cowboy hat, walking around Las Vegas. She is seen pausing by the Sphere, picking it up, holding it in her hand, and tapping it curiously.
After footage of the interlude was circulated on social media, the Sphere Entertainment Group (SEG) hit the singer's production company, Parkwood Entertainment, with a cease-and-desist.
According to the New York Post (which obtained a copy of the cease-and-desist written on May 1), attorney Kathleen McCarthy, representing Sphere Entertainment Group, accused the singer and her company of “impermissible use and violation” of the company’s "intellectual property rights."
“SEG was never asked and the prominent appearance and manipulation of SEG’s Sphere venue in the video is unauthorized,” McCarthy wrote.
The letter issued a May 5 deadline for the singer to “cease and desist from using the Sphere venue in the video immediately — in addition to refraining from using this imagery on any merchandise, promotional or marketing materials, or in tour movies.” If the singer failed to do so, SEG “reserves all rights to take further action as SEG deems appropriate without notice.”
While Beyoncé has never performed at the Sphere, she was in talks with the company for a residency in 2024. However, the deal never went through after SEG denied her request to close the venue for two weeks for rehearsals.
Beyoncé's next "Cowboy Carter Tour" show is scheduled for May 7 at the SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The tour, which runs for nearly three hours, saw the singer perform over 35 songs, including tracks from her latest Grammy-winning album, including Texas Hold 'Em and 16 Carriages, and her older hits like Diva and Freedom.
