I think it is pretty fair to say that poor Beyoncé has been having a bit of a bad week.
First came those bizarre rumours on Monday that she was wearing a prosthetic bump in order to fake her pregnancy or make her bump seem bigger than it actually was, originating from a video that seemed to show her bump collapse as she sat down. Social media sites went into overdrive saying that at five months she couldn’t possibly be that big already (in her defence, I’m due the exact same week as the lovely lady and my bump is much bigger than hers!), and just as she seemed to put paid to the rumours by issuing a statement and allowing herself to be photographed wearing a sheer maternity top yesterday, more bad news has hit today.
This morning media agencies around the world have accused the singer of plagiarising dance moves from her new video ‘Countdown’. 22 Seconds of the video show choreographed moves that appear to have been taken directly from the ballet ‘Rosas Danst Rosa’ by Anne Teresa De Keersmaker. The similarities are so striking that the Belgian choreographer has accused Beyoncé of plagiarism in an interview with an Antwerp radio station.
In a statement Beyoncé has admitted that the inspiration for her video came from several 1960s era sources, such as Audrey Hepburn’s movie ‘Funny Face’, the work of Andy Warhol, and Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker’s ballet.
Ms De Keersmaeker has protested that nobody ever sought permission from her or informed her of the use of her routine. In this case it is possible that copyright may have been breached, and with lawyer’s being informed it looks like this bad week could get a lot worse yet…
