Beyoncé and Jay-Z turned Game 3 of the 2019 NBA Finals into a date night — and the “Formation” singer made sure that no one came between them.
During the Wednesday, June 5, game between the Golden State Warriors and the Toronto Raptors, the cameras panned over to the Carters, who sat courtside next to Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob and his wife, Nicole Curran. At one point, Curran leaned over Beyoncé, 37, to chat with Jay-Z, 49, as the superstar couple smiled and waved to people sitting on the opposite side of the court.
What happened next drove the Beyhive wild. Queen Bey’s grin quickly faded into a scowl as she looked around Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. Then, she visibly shifted over in her seat, moving in Curran’s direction and therefore prompting some fans to speculate that Beyoncé tried to set some boundaries.
“Beyoncé don’t like that girl beside her at all,” one member of the Beyhive tweeted. Another Twitter user wrote, “Beyonce is so annoyed by this woman and hov gon’ hear about it on the jet. beyonce definitely didn’t think that tonight of all nights that she’d have to hit a woman with a shoulder nudge in rare burberry but here we are.”
Beyoncé don’t like that girl beside her at all.
— Jason Rose (@JasonRoseEh) June 6, 2019
beyonce definitely didn’t think that tonight of all nights that she’d have to hit a woman with a shoulder nudge in rare burberry but here we are.
— Brandon Caldwell (@_brandoc) June 6, 2019
Naturally, video of the seemingly icy interaction quickly went viral on Twitter. “Somebody better tell Becky she better BACK UP OFF BEY!” the Los Angeles radio station Power 106 tweeted, referencing a lyric from Beyoncé’s 2016 single “Sorry.”
Somebody betta tell Becky she betta BACK👏🏽UP👏🏽OFF👏🏽BEY! 👀 #JayZ #Beyonce #NBAFinals pic.twitter.com/LaD5V1jAwQ
— Power 106 (@Power106LA) June 6, 2019
“I would leave the earth if Beyonce looked this ready to smack me,” a third fan tweeted, while another hilariously dubbed the “Crazy in Love” singer the “queen of the FOH nudge.”
I would leave the earth if Beyonce looked this ready to smack me https://t.co/Yaf4JKeMhN
— KB (@KaraRBrown) June 6, 2019
Beyoncé. queen of the FOH nudge.
— Resha (@ChefResha) June 6, 2019
MTV’s The Challenge star Jemmye Carroll, meanwhile, tweeted, “Beyoncé shoving her ass over at the end is the level of petty we deserve from our queen.”
Beyoncé shoving her ass over at the end is the level of petty we deserve from our queen 👑 https://t.co/xDNXipQKiF
— Jem (@JustJem24) June 6, 2019
Beyoncé’s dedicated legion of fans have been fiercely protective of her since she insinuated on her acclaimed 2016 visual album, Lemonade, that Jay-Z had cheated on her. The rapper later confirmed that he had been unfaithful, telling The New York Times that they both turned to music as a “therapy session.”
Us Weekly has reached out to Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s reps and Curran for comment.
