Dean Altman
Beyoncé and Jay-Z attended the 50th NAACP Image Awards this weekend, where she won the award for Entertainer of the Year. But that wasn’t the biggest news of the night. The most talked about moment from the evening was when actor Omari Hardwick kissed Beyoncé on her cheek, twice, and the Bey-hive started to swarm.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BvqMI__guBn/
A video posted online showed the whole interaction: the Power actor kissed Bey on her cheek, then hugged her, then kissed her cheek again, although this time it was a little closer to her mouth. Umm.
Actor Omari Hardwick is under fire after getting too close for comfort while greeting Beyonce at the NAACP Image Awards 👀 pic.twitter.com/ZOahxom3rg
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 31, 2019
People on Twitter immediately started commenting on the awkward encounter, with one person calling the kiss “unnecessary and uncomfortable.”
https://twitter.com/farhana_io/status/1112256345279848449
Other people felt that they could relate, having been trapped in positions like that with men before.
https://twitter.com/D0MXNXQUE/status/1112380259884851202
Some people felt that Omari had definitely crossed a line.
https://twitter.com/ohphillia/status/1112228751117570049
So this Omari/Beyoncé thing – as a general rule when greeting someone, I keep it at a handshake. Kisses and hugs have to be consensual with BOTH parties.
— FilmFatale_NYC 🇭🇹 🇩🇴 🇺🇸 (@FilmFatale_NYC) March 31, 2019
A lot of people also focused on Jay’s reaction to his wife being kissed more than on Beyoncé’s reaction, something some social media users found troubling.
https://twitter.com/Kartrashh/status/1112307571413659648
Some ppl are more focused on Omari offending Jay than they are about Beyonce's discomfort and I really am troubled by that
— you (@MissZindzi) March 31, 2019
Others thought thatthe whole thing was just a simple, slightly awkward encounter that got blown “way out of proportion.”
https://twitter.com/_Azryah/status/1112336237925412864
I agree, I think people are blowing this way out of proportion. None of us know what was going on in either of their heads. It looked awkward but there could be a million reasons why.
— Katie (@kmar71) March 31, 2019
I really hope Beyonce comments on this. People are so presumptuous and ready to “call someone out” but A) we cant read her mind and assume she was uncomfortable based on a 3 second clip B) we can’t assume his motives were anything other than a friendly gesture based on 3 seconds.
— Al Bama (@Al_BamaI65South) March 31, 2019
And still others wondered if maybe it was a cultural thing that had been misunderstood.
And while this may be seen as a sign of respect in some cultures, it can also be viewed as invasive and offensive by others.
I grew up in a Haitian household where I was taught to greet my elders, family members, and church leaders the same way Omari Hardwick greeted Beyoncé.
— JAIDUS (@Jaidus_) March 31, 2019
Well, until Beyoncé speaks out about the moment (if she does at all), we’ll have no idea what she was feeling. But almost every woman in the world has found herself in that awkward position of being kissed or hugged by some man that they really didn’t want touching them, even if he’s a friend. So it makes sense that women would be up in arms on Bey’s behalf.
h/t BuzzFeed
