Beyoncé Knowles Carter is going to extreme lengths to protect her image — the diva left many surprised by setting out a series of strict rules during her performance at the Celebration of Life memorial, remembering Kobe Bryant and his daughter teen daughter, Gianna Bryant.
The multi-grammy winner opened the event that was held in front of thousands of fans, family members, and friends at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California on Monday.
The 38-year-old Texan entertainer wore Kobe’s color — a bright gold suit as she took the stage with a large choir all dressed in white to open the emotional service in tribute of the basketball icon and his 13-year-old child.
Before belting out the first note, Jay-Z‘s wife explained her choice of songs for the event.
The mother of three said: “I’m here because I love Kobe, and this was one of his favorite songs.” Beyoncé
performed her hit song, “XO,” and later sang “Halo.”
Several videos of the event went viral on social media, but not many photos have surfaced, and there is a reason why.
It has been confirmed by several news organizations that photographers from multiple well-known agencies covering the event were banned from taking photos of Beyoncé.
Several editors at the Associated Press and Getty Images explained that they were given clear orders not to take pictures of Beyoncé and Bryant’s three daughters.
One editor, who found the move odd, had this to say: “It is so offensive to Kobe’s family and the fans, Beyoncé is so controlling of her image — she usually only allows approved selected images of her to be released — so no photographers at the Kobe memorial were allowed to take her picture. Really, at a memorial? Not even the family of Michael Jackson did that.”
Another expert lashed out because they found Beyoncé was taking things too far.
The insider claimed: “A Staples Center staffer was dispatched to make sure not a single camera was focused on the stage. The photographers couldn’t believe it. This doesn’t help Beyoncé’s image at all, and it hurts her. It makes her look like a diva. The memorial wasn’t about her. The only shots of Bey that did emerge were screen grabs from TV. None of the other artists at the memorial asked for this, not Christina Aguilera, not Alicia Keys.”
Representatives for Beyoncé did not comment on the matter. This is not the first time the singer and her team have taken drastic steps to protect her image.
After her performance at the Super Bowl, Beyoncé had staff members reach out to websites and blogs and requested that all “unflattering” pictures of the singer be removed immediately.
