Beyoncé Is Under Fire

Beyoncé is being criticized by fans due to her Renaissance concert film being screened in Israel.

Releasing on December 1, Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé documents the creation of her 2022 album and record-breaking world tour. However, pro-Palestinian fans are unhappy that the movie will be shown in Israeli cinemas. Newsweek has reached out to Beyoncé for comment via email.

On October 7, militant group Hamas launched a shock attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages. The Israelis subsequently began a campaign of airstrikes on the Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country is at war and suspended supplies of food, energy, fuel and medicine into Gaza, before launching a ground offensive. As of November 28, at least 13,300 people in Gaza have been killed and a further 1.7 million displaced, per the Associated Press.

Pro-Palestinian fans took to social media to slam the singer, criticizing her for championing causes such as civil rights and female empowerment but not taking a stand in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

"She's nobody's saviour. Just another capitalist who doesn't care about Palestine," wrote Wambúi wa Mwatha on X, the social network formerly known as Twitter.

"Black liberation intersects with Palestinian liberation," posted @ho3micidee. "This shouldn't even be a debate." Khoisan agreed, writing: "You are progressive when it suits you and it's not cute."

Like Taylor Swift—whose Eras Tour film screening in Israel also caused uproar—the Renaissance movie is being distributed by cinema chain AMC. The brand has partnered up with local theaters to bring the film to countries worldwide, including Israel.

Other users defended the 42-year-old, criticizing people holding celebrities to superhero standards. "If Beyoncé is nobody's saviour, why is she then expected to speak on Palestine?" commented Owlie.

"Tough to swallow that a songstress gotta bear the brunt of global politics, slingin' solutions like she's the UN," wrote Tanya.

"A big factor is AMC is distributing the film, not Beyoncé herself," posted brosecco. "AMC has contractual obligations with cinemas so Beyoncé can't just say remove the movie from Tel Aviv and AMC says okay.

"With that being said, Beyonce and Taylor are powerful enough to at least try," brosecco added.

Beginning in May 2023, the Renaissance world tour spanned 56 shows across 12 countries. By September, the tour had added $90 million to the 42-year-old's net worth, taking her from $450 million to $540 million in less than a year.

Renaissance was Beyoncé's seventh studio album, and although not her largest debut, sold 332,000 units in its first week and went straight to No.1 on the Billboard 200.

The singer has yet to speak out on the Israel-Hamas war. However, she did cancel two planned gigs in Israel in 2016. The dates were added as an extension to Beyoncé's Formation world tour, but ended up being dropped from the schedule.

"In the announcement we received from the singer's representatives, they decided not to extend the tour and finish according to schedule," a spokesperson for Israeli production company Bluestone said in a statement. "The singer will not reach the region, including Israel."

At the time, Beyoncé was under pressure from civil rights groups to scrap the performances, particularly the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement. The group—which includes Pink Floyd singer Roger Waters—urges performers to boycott Israel in support of Palestinians.

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