April 22, 2025
Stan Walker, an Austrian musician and singer who led the Haka, said the singer was surprised by the dance.
Members of the Beyhive are defending singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter after a 2013 video resurfaced, accusing the pop star of “offensively” mocking a traditional Polynesian war dance.
The video shows Queen Bey being greeted by a group of men performing the Haka dance backstage following an October 2013 show of her “Mrs. Carter Show World Tour” in Auckland, New Zealand. The choreographed movements are known as Haka, a traditional Polynesian war dance performed primarily by Māori, indigenous Polynesians of New Zealand’s mainland, during cultural ceremonies or to show respect to distinguished guests.
When Beyoncé was seen making expressions similar to the performers’ and wagging her tongue, things took a left turn in social media comment sections. One user called it the “most cringiest shit I’ve ever watched” in the comment section of a now-deleted Instagram post. Other users called Bey’s response “offensive” and accused her of mocking traditions.
However, it wasn’t long before Beyhive members jumped in to defend the clip from over a decade ago, arguing that the Grammy-winning artist was showing mutual respect.
“She is not being disrespectful. She is mirroring them doing the haka out of mutual respect,” one user said. “No cultural appropriation here! She is clearly feeling the intense mana, and I’m sure she loved the kind gesture.”
On X, fans praised how Beyoncé embraced the gesture and accused people of just looking for a reason to bash the “Cowboy Carter” singer.
“At the end, you can see that she was deeply moved and honored by that haka. Love this,” @agent5792 said.
When the video first surfaced, Mrs. Carter was celebrated for bringing the show to the country with E! News reporting it set a new record for the highest audience attendance at Vector Arena for a solo artist.
The people who weren’t offended by Beyoncé’s response were the men featured in the video. Stan Walker, an Austrian musician and singer who led the Haka, said the singer was surprised by the dance and said there was nothing but a spirit of deep respect for her in the room.
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