*Beyoncé paid tribute to the fan who was reportedly fatally stabbed over the weekend in New York City.
Professional dancer O’Shae Sibley, 28, was with friends when he was killed at a Brooklyn gas station Saturday in a vicious homophobic attack, People reports.
Sibley was voguing to a Beyoncé song when several men approached the group and shouted gay slurs. Sibley was stabbed after the confrontation became hostile.
One of his friends, Otis Pena, was filming the group’s night out for a Facebook Live post when the attack occurred.
“REST IN POWER O’SHAE SIBLEY,” Beyoncé, 41, wrote on her official website.
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.https://t.co/XiPuzEgn6T
— Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal (@bradhoylman) July 31, 2023
As People reports, the NYPD is investigating his death as a possible hate crime.
“The incident is being investigated as a possible biased incident,” a spokesman for the New York City Police Department told the outlet.
“The Ailey organization mourns the tragic death of O’Shae Sibley, following an attack outside of a Brooklyn gas station on Saturday night,” the Alvin Ailey American Dance Foundation’s Ailey Extension, said on Monday. “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.”
RIP O’Shae Sibley pic.twitter.com/2jrCOCpzmX
— Franklin Leonard (@franklinleonard) August 1, 2023
“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,” openly gay New York State Senator Brad Hoylman-Signal tweeted Monday. “Hate-fueled attacks are.”
GLAAD released a statement Tuesday, saying: “No one should have to fear for their safety just for being themselves. Politicians spewing lies and proposing policies filled with disinformation, and media repeating their false and dangerous rhetoric unchallenged, are creating an incredibly hostile environment that endangers all LGBTQ people and all queer people of color.”
No arrests have been made in Sibley’s case, People reports.
READ MORE: How Beyoncé Single-Handedly Raised Inflation in Sweden
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
