Opinion has been divided on social media by Usher when video circulated of an April Fool’s Day prank involving Beyoncé that she pulled on her fans at a music festival.
“Light It Up” singer Usher, 44, performed onstage at the two-day Dreamville Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina, on April 1. He headlined a day that included performances by Sean Paul, Lil Durk, Ari Lennox and City Girls.
In the middle of his performance, the R&B star he paused to speak to the audience. She alluded to promising festival-goers a surprise in interviews broadcast while promoting the star-studded show.
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“I said that I would have a special surprise for you tonight, ladies and gentlemen. Do you want to know what that surprise is?” Usher asked as the crowd cheered.
“Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, put your hands together for the one, the only Beyoncé,” he said, prompting enthusiastic cheers from the audience.
Building on that anticipation, Usher, whose full name is Usher Raymond IV, looked backstage before calling an unseen person on stage. The routine continued for almost a minute.
Finally, the star returned to the microphone and announced, “April Fool’s,” drawing a strong reaction from the disappointed crowd as they laughed.
Images of the moment were shared in Twitter, where he received criticism from music fans. While it’s common for people to make jokes on the first day of April, some felt that announcing a star of Beyoncé’s caliber was going too far.
“That’s so complicated,” wrote one Twitter user, adding a series of crying face emojis.
“There are some things you shouldn’t joke about,” said another detractor.
One said they would react like Andrea “Dre” Greene, a character from donald glover Swarm. The limited series follows Greene, played by Dominique Fishback, who is an obsessed and homicidal fan of the world’s biggest pop star, Ni’Jah (Nirine S. Brown). Beyoncé’s devoted fan base inspired the project.
“I would have left,” another tweeted about how they would have dealt with the Usher prank. “Don’t play games with me when it comes to Beyoncé.”
“He really took a chance,” said another. “I feel so bad for the people who fell for it.”
Despite the criticism, many other Twitter users praised Usher for his bold prank.
One tweeted: “Hilarious! He’s not ok! I know they thought dammit how did I get so lucky!”
“He’s so real for this,” one fan wrote, while another said: “That was fun. [not gonna lie].”
While Grammy Winner Beyonce He may not have been around after all, Usher added an element of surprise to his performance, when he was joined on stage by the City Girls for their collaboration “Good Love.”