*Erykah Badu is known for trolling on social media, and fans have come to appreciate her jokes and jabs at other stars. So when she saw the new limited edition artwork for Beyonce’s upcoming “Cowboy Carter” album, she accused the singer of stealing her style.
The artwork depicts Bey wearing long beaded braids and a sash that reads, “Act ii BEYINCÉ.”
Badu often wears a similar hairstyle and was seemingly in her feelings when she shared the cover art with her Instagram Stories on Wednesday, captioning it simply with, “Hmmm.”
She also sent a message to Bey’s husband JAY-Z on X/Twitter, writing, “To Jay Z. Say somethin Jay. You gone let this woman and these bees do this to me?? 😆.”
Several Beyonce fans responded to Badu and noted that the late Rick James did it first (rock a beaded bob hairdo).
Meanwhile, Bey’s longtime publicist, Yvette Noel-Schure, posted a montage on IG showing the artist wearing the braided hairstyle throughout her career. She captioned the post, “She slays. She slays. Now. Then. Always. act ii COWBOY CARTER 3.29 #criticswithoutcredentials.” See the post below.
We reported earlier that when Beyoncé unveiled a new image for “Cowboy Carter” on her website, she noted in the caption that her latest project “was born out of an experience that I had years ago where I did not feel welcomed…and it was very clear that I wasn’t.”
“But, because of that experience, I did a deeper dive into the history of Country music and studied our rich musical archive,” Beyoncé continued.
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As CNN reports, the artist “previously infused country sounds into her work, including her 2016 track “Daddy Lessons.” Beyoncé performed that song with the Chicks at the CMA Awards that year, and later received racist backlash,” the outlet writes.
“The criticisms I faced when I first entered this genre forced me to propel past the limitations that were put on me,” Beyonce wrote in her post on Tuesday. “act ii is a result of challenging myself, and taking my time to bend and blend genres together to create this body of work.”
READ MORE: Here’s Why Beyoncé’s Name Is Spelled ‘Beyincé’ on New ‘Cowboy Carter’ Artwork
